Brazilian court suspends licenses for Sigma Lithium mine

By Fabio Teixeira

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 6 (Reuters) – A Brazilian judge ordered the suspension of environmental licenses and mining activities at Sigma Lithium’s Grota do Cirilo mine, a court document reviewed by Reuters showed.

The judge ruled on Friday in a civil suit brought by the Federation of Quilombola Communities of Minas Gerais in which the group said the miner’s project was within the direct area of influence of the Bau Quilombola community.

Quilombolas are traditional communities of African descent that were created by people who escaped slavery. Their territories are protected by the state, with more extensive licensing for projects that could impact them.

Judge Antonio Lucio Tulio de Oliveira Barbosa said there was sufficient evidence that the Bau territory fell within the project’s area of influence, triggering obligations for procedures including a free, prior and informed consultation with the community.

The judge said there was risk of harm to the community, as Sigma’s mining complex carried out “constant blasting and earthmoving activities just a few kilometres from the traditional territory.”

The judge cited studies indicating the territory is about 2.7 km (1.7 miles) from the project’s directly affected area, well within the 8 km threshold that triggers the more extensive process.

Sigma has argued the project lies outside the impact zone. The court ordered an independent georeferencing expert review to determine the exact distance between the project and the Quilombola territory.

Beyond suspending environmental licenses, the decision bars Minas Gerais state from granting new ones and establishes a fine for Sigma if it continues its operations.

In a statement on Monday, Sigma said it continues to operate the mine, and that it has not been notified of what it called “a preliminary judicial ruling issued without due process.”

The company said it would begin its legal defense on Tuesday.

The mine, Sigma’s only productive asset, has a nameplate capacity of 330,000 tons of lithium oxide concentrate on an annualised basis.

(Reporting by Fabio Teixeira; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Tom Hogue)