Brazil’s mining regulator workers go on strike

Employees of the National Mining Agency (ANM) will hold a general strike for five days, between July 10 and 14, to demand better conditions for the regulatory body of the Brazilian mineral sector.

Part of the staff, amounting to 30%, will be dedicated to carrying out essential tasks that cannot be put on hold, including the inspection of tailings dams and underground mines. The strike, however, has halted services such as granting mining titles and permits.

Since 2010, the agency’s headcount has fallen by almost half to 664 people, or a third of the levels required by law, with ANM officials paid 46% less on average than staff at other regulatory agencies.

The agency has only 53 employees to supervise 911 tailings dams.

According to the Association of Civil Servants of the National Mining Agency, improvements in the ANM would generate an impact of 59 million reais ($12 million) per year, which represents 0.57% of what is collected with the Financial Compensation for Mineral Exploration (CFEM), the fee paid to states, the federal district, municipalities and federal government bodies in exchange for the economic use of mineral resources in their respective territories.

Brazil’s mining sector generated 250 billion reais ($52 billion) last year, paying 7 billion reais in royalties, but just one in a thousand companies were inspected.

(With files from Bloomberg)