Mining activity in Brazil is regulated according to the framework contained in the Mining Code (CM). For the development of exploration and the overall mine workings to occur regularly, companies must meet minimum conditions of quality, health, and safety. These guidelines are set forth in the Mining Regulatory Norms (NRM).
The Technical Scope of the Norms
The framework overseen by the National Mining Agency (ANM) consists of 22 mandatory norms (NRM-01 to NRM-22) that seamlessly span everything from exploration, exploitation, and beneficiation, to mine closure and environmental rehabilitation.
For daily risk management, the following continuously applied regulations stand out:
- NRM-01 (General Rules) and NRM-22 (Mine Operational Safety): Define the premises of project engineering safety and the integrity of the mine’s structures. The ANM’s NRM-22 does not legislate on occupational medicine or labor health, jurisdictions that belong exclusively to the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE) through NR-22. To address this overlap, Public Consultation No. 02/2025 aimed to review and adjust NRM-22, removing labor-related terms to focus strictly on the operational stability of the mineral deposit.
- NRM-02 (Open-pit mining) and NRM-04 (Underground Openings): Regulate physical stability parameters, geometric design, and safety in surface and subsurface exploitation. The refinement of NRM-02 remains under regulatory development.
- NRM-08 (Prevention against Fires, Explosions, Gases, and Floods): Outlines the control of hazardous atmospheres, gas tolerance limits, and technical emergency evacuation routes within the mine.
NRM-19: Stability of Waste Dumps and Tailings Piles
Established in 2001, NRM-19 sets the engineering requirements for waste dumps and tailings piles. The original 2001 text remains fully in force until new criteria are formally published by the agency.
Currently, the project is in the Formulation Phase within Thematic Axis 6 of the ANM’s Regulatory Agenda, renamed “Regulation of safety criteria related to mining piles”. There is no open public consultation for NRM-19 at this time, and the technical text must pass through social participation mechanisms before becoming a definitive resolution.
The agency’s guidelines dictate that current regulatory compliance under this norm requires:
- Prior Projects: Mandatory geotechnical, hydrological, and hydrogeological studies prior to construction.
- Technical Responsibility: Accountability by a qualified professional for both project design and execution.
- Control Engineering: Implementation of monitoring systems (focusing on seepage, displacements, and stability) and internal drainage systems specific to tailings piles.
- Contingency and Environmental Plans: Mitigating sediment carrying and structuring evacuation and contingency plans.
- Locational Restrictions: Strict prohibition of structures in risk zones and hazardous tailings piles.
Technical-Regulatory Intersection: ANM Resolution No. 220/2025 (Dams)
In parallel with the pile regulations, tailings management via dam structures was substantially altered by ANM Resolution No. 220/2025. The text gradually replaces the former ANM Resolution No. 95/2022, promoting its full revocation in 2027.
The main technical adjustments encompass:
- CRI/DPA Classification: Overhaul of the Risk Category and Associated Potential Damage matrices to optimize inspection prioritization.
- Hypothetical Rupture Study (Dam Break): Mandatory modeling in strict compliance with ABNT NBR 17.188:2024.
- Mine Closure (Decommissioning): Expanded decharacterization rules with validation by an independent audit technical report.
- Governance and Deadlines: Introduction of international frameworks (ISO 31000 and GISTM/ICMM). The set deadlines are July 30, 2027, for updating flood studies, and August 2, 2029, for the re-evaluation of structural safety factors.
Failure to comply with the technical requirements set forth in the 22 NRMs or failure to observe the transition milestones established by related resolutions entails the application of sanctions, fines, and operational suspensions, in accordance with legal adjustment schedules.
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