Brazil has a backlog of more than 20,000 areas where mining rights expired or were otherwise lost by their previous holders, equivalent to roughly 10% of the areas with pending mining permits.
After a supply glut sent cobalt prices plummeting about 70% from the peak, many of the country’s artisanal miners are now switching focus to copper instead.
The Chapada mine, in the northwest state of Goiás, began production in 2007 and is expected to churn out about 54,500 tonnes of copper and 100,000 ounces of gold this year.
Mining activity in May dropped 2.3% compared with the same month in 2018 as the sector continued to confront sharply falling ore grades at its largest deposits.
