Colossus Minerals (CSI.to) denied permit by Brazil government (info now updated; see note)

Note: Colossus (CSI.to) has had its applicaton for the EIA approved by majority vote. please see latest post here


Thanks due to reader 'NK' who alerted IKN to the original Public Ministry article

According to this report just out, Colossus Minerals (CSI.to) has been denied a key environmental permit for its Serra Pelada project due to "grave omissions" in its application. IKN will get a decent translation of the Portuguese language story asap. Watch this space.

UPDATE: My Portuguese is not as good as my Spanish so please bear in mind that this may not be 100% accurate...but I'm pretty sure it gets the main gist of the situation correctly. I have a call in with a Portuguese expert and if I get a better translation from him later I'll put in a second update, then you can compare the two translations yourself. Mine was done with no recourse to auto-translators, so you might want to run the original note through one of those online things as well. Here's my translation:

Belém: Public Ministry opposes the Installation of Serra Pelada Project

The State Public Ministry, via the two magistrates Nilton Gurjão das Chagas and Raimundo de Jesus Coelho de Moraesc, today manifested itself against the environmental licence application of the Serra Pelada project, in the municipality of Curionópolis, South-East Pará, operated by Serra Pelada Companhia de Desenvolvimento Mineral (SPCDM), whose objective is extraction and sale of gold, palladium and platinum.

According to The Public Ministry, the Environmental Impact Study/Environmental Impact Report (EIA/RIMA) presented contains graves omissions, such as the lack of provision and analysis of environmental impact caused by mining activity. Also, the study makes no mention of the demands of public policies during the construction and extraction phases of the project.

The distribution of profits from Serra Pelada with Cooperativa de Mineração dos Garimpeiros de Serra Pelada (Coomigasp) was another point questioned. According to the EIA/RIMA, the garimperos participate in just 25% of the company as well as a payment for kilo of mineral sold. The Public Ministry wants a more equitable participation for Coomigasp in the company.

According to the magistrates, there is also "non-compliance and non-procedure of the Environmental Laws of Pará as regards the participation of the community in the elaboration of the terms of reference of the environmental study as presented".

The public ministry is part of the State Council for the Environment (COEMA).

UPDATE 2, about half an hour later: I've been trying to find out what's going on. Apparently COEMA is a thirteen person committee and the Public Ministry (PM) people have two of the thirteen votes. The PM were given until today to pronounce opinion on the Serra Pelada permit and were expected to approve the licence. Their decision was unexpected, but it should be understood that they are just two of the thirteen votes.

The current strong PPS action in CSI points to positives for CSi and not negatives. Let's see how this one is announced by the company. Disclosure: no position in CSI.to.