A Brazilian court has suspended this week a decision to allow the country’s national copper and related minerals reserve, Renca, to be opened for mining exploration.
The decision is provisional; the country’s attorney general office, AGU, said it will appeal to another court, so the provisional injunction can be lifted.
Created in 1984, the Renca reserve is the size of Denmark and is said to have high potential for mineral exploration, including iron ore, manganese, among other commodities.
The judge in the case said the government cannot issue decisions regarding a national reserve without consulting the Brazilian congress.
The government was beginning to evaluate 58 requests to explore minerals in the Amazon region reserve that were made before the reserve was created in 1984. The government also expects to receive new requests to explore minerals in the area.