another reason for the trough Brazil is a heavy weight in the iron game, but is the investment worth it anymore ?
RIO DE JANEIRO, June 27 (Reuters) - Brazil is considering cancelling some mineral rights in areas considered "strategic" and compensating mining companies for prospecting work done on those claims, high-level Brazilian government and mining industry officials told Reuters.
If enacted, the plan could limit exploration rights and raise prospecting costs of companies with mining operations in the country, such as Brazil's Vale SA and MMX Mineração e Metalicos SA, Great Britain's Anglo American Plc and Australia's BHP Billiton.
Metals and minerals being considered as "strategic" include potash, rare-earth metals and phosphates, the sources said. Large iron-ore deposits that have not yet been leased may also be set aside as strategic and held for special auctions.
Brazil is the world's largest exporter of iron ore, the main ingredient in steel, a major producer of bauxite, the main ingredient in aluminum, and a growing producer of nickel and copper, key industrial metals.
The proposals are part of discussions regarding a new Brazilian mining code, which the government of President Dilma Rousseff expects to present to Brazil's Congress in the coming weeks or months.
Under the expected legislation, which is part of governmental efforts to boost revenue and increase state control over energy and natural resources, Brazil will sell some mineral rights to the highest bidder under rules similar to its petroleum-rights auction system.
In anticipation of the new legislation, Brazil's Mining Ministry and National Mineral Production Department (DNPM) have stopped issuing new mineral rights and exploration licenses, the sources said.
"We've stopped everything. You can't permit what's going on, things that don't exist in any other country," a senior executive-branch official said. He did not want to be identified because he is involved in drafting the legislation.
Best to stick to Canada in my opinion.