By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Mineração collected R$7.91 billion in mining royalties (CFEM) in 2025, marking the second-highest total in the historical series and a 6.3% nominal increase from 2024. The only stronger year was 2021, when a global surge in mineral commodity prices pushed collections to about R$10.3 billion.
The headline figure masks a structural shift within the sector. Iron ore, still the dominant source of royalties, saw its share fall to 69% in 2025 from 75% a year earlier, highlighting a gradual diversification of Brazil’s mining base. Copper increased its contribution to 7.8% from 5.5%, while gold rose to 7.5% from 4.8%, reducing the system’s reliance on a single commodity.
Underlying activity indicators also improved. The number of royalty-paying titleholders rose 1.4% to 8,086, mining processes subject to CFEM increased 1.6% to 13,691, and producing municipalities climbed 1.2% to 2,841. According to the regulator, the results reflect stronger governance, broader mineral diversification and expanded use of data analytics to enhance collection efficiency and compliance.
Of the R$7.91 billion raised in 2025, R$7.09 billion was transferred to beneficiary entities. States received R$1.17 billion, while municipalities received R$5.92 billion, including producing regions, affected areas and neighboring cities. In total, 5,234 municipalities—around 94% of Brazil’s cities—received CFEM transfers, underscoring the nationwide fiscal relevance of mining royalties. Under Brazilian law, CFEM resources cannot be used to service debt or pay permanent payroll expenses and must be reported through annual accountability procedures.
The revenue performance is part of a broader institutional strengthening process. New digital platforms integrating fiscal, production and invoice data expanded near-real-time audit capacity, accelerated collections through debt acknowledgment mechanisms and improved traceability of mineral origin. Officials say the changes raised compliance standards, curtailed evasion risks and made royalty flows more predictable.
Staff reinforcements, internal reorganization and ongoing regulatory reviews—covering royalty distribution criteria, reference pricing and the inclusion of new mineral categories—signal a maturing CFEM framework. The shift suggests Brazil’s mining royalties are becoming less dependent on iron ore cycles and structurally more resilient, even as iron ore remains the backbone of the sector.
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