As athletes of all disciplines speed up and down the lanes, courts and roads of the 2016 Rio Olympics, Brazil´s new minister of mines and energy has launched a fresh bid to up the pace of Congress´ seemingly endless deliberations over the new Brazilian Mining Code.
Fernando Coelho Filho this week called for a renewed focus on finalising and passing the code at the Minas Gerais Panorama of Mining event in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais.
“Our expectation, and I’ve talked with president Michel Temer and some lawmakers that are discussing the subject directly, is that after the elections, when parliament activities are back in full swing, we can resume discussion and expedite the passage of this project,” said the minister.
Filho said alternative approaches were being considered that could make the approval process more flexible, while acknowledging the increased legal uncertainty for investors since the proposed new framework came before congress.
The push to create a new Brazilian mining code has been underway for more than six years, with the project officially sent to congress in 2013. It aims to significantly modernise the presiding 1967 framework and increase federal government revenues.
*Simon Tarmo runs Aspermont’s Brazil bureau. Aspermont publishes Mining News Brazil and the Brazil Mining Catalogue