Brazil’s Minas Gerais state environment and sustainable development department, Sedam, has suspended the licenses and activities of Extrativa Mineral and Cedro Mineração following a request from prosecutors.
The two iron ore companies signed an agreement last year that required them to rectify environmental irregularities, but the miners haven’t complied with the terms and also expanded the areas of their sites where mineral processing equipment is installed without authorization, said an Oct 23 statement from Minas Gerais.
The expansion of the facilities would have damaged, among other things, native vegetation, the statement added.
Extrativa Mineral and Cedro Mineração extracted minerals from the area without permission, Minas Gerais state said, but didn’t disclosing volumes.
Minas Gerais did not disclose when it would allow to the two iron ore miners to resume activities.
Neither Extrativa Mineral nor Cedro Mineração have disclose information about the matter.
Brazil’s iron ore shipments rose by 11.2pc to 103.2mn mt in the third quarter of this year from 92.8mn mt during Q3 2019.
Brazilian crude steel production rose by 7.5pc to 2.6mn mt in September on an annual basis.