By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil’s mining industry will need to invest about $7 billion between 2026 and 2030 to decommission upstream tailings dams, according to the Brazilian Mining Institute, known as Ibram. The amount is equivalent to roughly 36 billion reais and represents close to half of the sector’s projected socio-environmental spending for the period.
The estimate was presented by Ibram’s mining affairs director, Julio Nery, during a press briefing on Monday (23), as first reported by Agência iNFRA. “The estimate is that we will spend more than $7 billion decommissioning upstream dams, which were 74 in 2019,” Nery said.
Brazil’s National Mining Agency, or ANM, counted 52 upstream dams as of early 2025, including 32 in the state of Minas Gerais. The upstream method uses mining waste itself to raise containment embankments — a design widely viewed as more vulnerable than alternative technologies.
The construction and raising of upstream dams were banned after the collapses in Mariana in 2015 and Brumadinho in 2019, two of the country’s worst environmental disasters. The prohibition was enacted under Law 14.066/2020, which updated Brazil’s National Dam Safety Policy.
Since then, mining companies operating in Brazil — including Vale SA (VALE3 BZ; VALE US) — have accelerated the shift toward safer waste management methods, such as dry stacking, which eliminates the need for conventional tailings dams.
The $7 billion earmarked for dam decommissioning is part of a broader $76.9 billion investment plan for Brazil’s mining sector between 2026 and 2030, Ibram said earlier this month. Socio-environmental initiatives account for 19% of the total projected capital expenditure.
The press conference was also attended by Pablo Cesário, who is set to assume the role of interim chief executive officer of Ibram on Sunday (2).
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