Brazil Court Suspends Sigma Lithium’s Mine in Minas Gerais
A federal court has suspended Sigma Lithium mining permits in Minas Gerais, halting its huge Lithium Valley project in Brazil. The post Brazil Court Suspends Sigma Lithium’s Mine in Minas Gerais appeared first on The Rio Times .
On September 4, a federal court in Brazil suspended the mining permits of Sigma Lithium's Grota do Cirilo mine in Minas Gerais state. The ruling halts operations across the company's Lithium Valley project, suspending existing licenses and barring regulators from issuing new ones. The order was issued by a federal appeals court in Minas Gerais and written by Judge Antônio Luís de Oliveira Barbosa.
The suspension affects every environmental permit held by Sigma Mineração, Sigma's Brazilian subsidiary, and also stops state regulators from issuing new permits. The Federal Federation of Quilombola Communities of Minas Gerais filed the case in May, arguing that Sigma's mine is too close to the Baú quilombola community in Araçuaí, violating community consultation rights.
The ruling suspends an August agreement between Minas Gerais's government and Sigma, which had allowed mining to resume. Sigma disputes the ruling, claiming its mine operates outside an 8-kilometer zone that would trigger the consultation rule and arguing that no clear land title exists around Baú. The company also states that special protection rules are difficult to apply when there is no clear land ownership.
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