ANM Upholds R$857 Million Royalty Charge on Samarco

Brazil’s mining regulator rejects Samarco’s appeal over CFEM debts in Minas Gerais

Nov 26, 2025 5:14 PM

By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil’s National Mining Agency (ANM) rejected an appeal by Samarco on Wednesday (26) and confirmed a R$857.2 million charge tied to unpaid mining royalties. The information was first reported by Agência iNFRA, which detailed the five CFEM (Financial Compensation for the Exploitation of Mineral Resources) proceedings related to iron ore extraction in the municipalities of Mariana and Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais.

According to Agência iNFRA, the company — jointly owned by Vale S.A. (VALE3) and BHP Group (BHP) — argued that the administrative proceedings, opened between 2010 and 2017, had expired and that CFEM should not apply to the pelleting of iron ore. Samarco’s lawyer, André Luiz Bündchen, said the pelleting process “is a mineralogical transformation process, not a simple beneficiation.”

ANM Director-General Mauro Henrique Sousa, who served as the case rapporteur, dismissed the claim, citing the regulator’s technical assessment. He said pelleting does not constitute industrialization because the final product remains a primary commodity.

“Pelletizing is merely an agglomeration process for ultrafine particles, converting them into medium-sized pellets. After this beneficiation process, it is still the same iron ore as before, only agglomerated into pellets,” Sousa said while reading his vote.

Sousa also rejected the allegation of expiration, noting that enforcement began in October 2019 after auditors identified missing or underpaid royalties. He explained that Brazil’s mining legislation sets a 10-year limit for establishing the debt and a five-year statute of limitations once the charge is formally issued.

ANM’s board unanimously upheld the five CFEM collections, distributed as follows:

R$235.2 million – Mariana (MG)
R$167.6 million – Ouro Preto (MG)
R$177.3 million – Mariana (MG)
R$119.7 million – Ouro Preto (MG)
R$157.4 million – Mariana (MG)

Samarco exited its judicial recovery process in August, nearly a decade after the Fundão dam collapse in Mariana triggered financial and operational turmoil across its operations.