The licensing request made by the mining company ArcelorMittal is under analysis by the Secretariat of the Environment of Itabira, Minas Gerais

Active for 2 decades, the waste dump at Mina do Andrade, located between Bela Vista de Minas, Itabira and João Monlevade (Minas Gerais), may have its potential expanded this year. With this objective in mind, the mining company ArcelorMittal filed a request for consent with the Piracicaba Municipal Environmental Protection Area (Apam Piracicaba), which must be studied by the Municipal Environmental Council (Codema) of Itabira in April. 

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According to Denes Lott, Secretary of the Environment, socio-environmental conditions are being studied before the execution of the project is approved. One of them is the installation of 200 septic tanks in a community close to the mine in Minas Gerais. However, just like the approval to increase the sterile pile, other actions still depend on technical analysis by the Environment Department and authorization from Codema. The information was confirmed by the City Hall of Itabira to the website In fact, where Gustavo Linhares produced the original article.

“We inform you that the company's lawsuit refers to a project to expand the waste pile already installed at Mina do Andrade, which is on the border of Bela Vista de Minas, João Monlevade and Itabira. This request is being evaluated by Environmental technicians who will make a detailed opinion on the studies presented. In it, all the necessary conditions will be contemplated”, clarified the prefecture of the city of Minas Gerais. “One of them, already at the negotiation stage with the company, will be rural sanitation in the surrounding communities. […] The assessment forecast by the directors is scheduled for the April meeting. Before this process, it is not yet possible to anticipate information, since the technical and legal analyzes are not yet concluded”, he concluded.

Statement by the mining company ArcelorMittal

According to DeFato, the Minas Gerais mining company ArcelorMittal declared that the site's overburden pile has been operating in Itabira since the 2000s, so it is already licensed. Thus, it only awaits the opinion of the responsible bodies regarding the counterparts necessary to proceed with the operations.

A complete and official note from ArcelorMittal contains the following: “The consent requested by ArcelorMittal Mina do Andrade to the Conservation Unit (APAM Piracicaba) refers to the expansion process of a sterile pile in operation, located in the municipality of Itabira for over 20 years. Additionally, we clarify that Mina do Andrade has been operating in the region for 86 years and has authorizations from the competent bodies.

In order to define the location of the pile, environmental studies were carried out at the time, as provided for in current legislation, which included locational alternatives. Authorization to start disposal operations in this structure was obtained by the company in 2002.

As it is an existing pile, it is licensed, and the process of its expansion, as well as the applicable counterparts provided for in the environmental compensation legislation, are under analysis by the state environmental agency. The socio-environmental impacts related to the operation are controlled and monitored, according to the Environmental Control Plan approved in the licensing”.

About Mina do Andrade, located in Minas Gerais

Owned by the mining company ArcelorMittal, Mina do Andrade, in Minas Gerais, turned 86 in July 2021. The mining company directs all production to the exclusive supply of the João Monlevade plant, which produces specific steel for the automobile industry. This plant in the state of Minas Gerais has a potential of 3,5 million tons of Sinter Feed per year.

Not long ago, the ArcelorMittal mining unit was expanded – the principle of the Itabirito Project and authorized by the State Council for Environmental Policy (Copam) –, which extended the useful life of the mine until 2062. R$ 115,7 million was the total amount invested in new equipment, such as sieving systems, quaternary crushing, magnetic concentration, concentrate and tailings filtration.

Also check out the Youtube channel of the mining company ArcelorMittal and stay up to date with the company's news: ArcelorMittal Brasil – Youtube