A Minas Gerais state environmental council (Copam) has denied a request by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte to suspend the environmental licensing of Grupo AVG, which was granted by the regulator in 2019.
Copam is a state’s council of environmental policy, which is also part of Semad, the state environment regulator. Earlier this year, Semad allowed AVG to resume iron ore activities at its Brumado mine in Caeté. Semad granted the installing license for the AVG Brumado project in 2019.
According to a media report by G1, 14 members of Semad’s council, Copam, voted to deny the Archdiocese’s request. AVG acquired iron ore company Brumafer in 2012. At the time, it agreed along with state prosecutors to environmentally recover the site’s area.