O que esperar das mudanças operacionais, novas regras e prazos do processo
The National Mining Agency (ANM) has published the draft notice for the 9th Round of Area Availability, which will make 7,000 areas available and introduce significant changes to the public offering and auction process for areas designated for mineral exploration and mining. The proposal reflects advances in digitization, greater regulatory rigor, and operational adjustments that directly impact participants. The notice is currently still in the public consultation phase and may undergo changes before it is officially published.
The draft of the 9th call for bids includes several updates compared to the call for bids for the 8th Round.
These changes reflect the ANM’s efforts to make the process more competitive, transparent, and aligned with more robust digital and financial practices.
One of the main new developments is the partnership with B3 (Brazilian Stock Exchange) to use its Auction Platform. This platform will be used for registration, expressions of interest, submission of financial bids, and payment. This represents a significant change from previous rounds, as it enables greater security and operational stability thanks to B3’s experience and infrastructure.
Another innovation is the creation of the Bid Bond stage, which is mandatory for participants submitting bids equal to or greater than R$1,000,000.00. The bid bond must be equal to 1% of the total bid amount and may be provided in the form of a cash deposit, government bonds, a surety bond, a bank guarantee, or a capitalization bond. Failure to submit the guarantee or any irregularity in its submission will result in the participant’s disqualification.
In addition, the call for bids limits expressions of interest to up to 10% of the listed areas (700 areas), with the aim of increasing competition and preventing the concentration of areas.
The minimum bid amount per area has been updated to R$5,000.00, exceeding the previous threshold of R$1,237.44. The applicable fees are:
The 9th Availability Round
The process is divided into seven phases:
The projected dates can be found in the schedule below. Please note that the official dates will be announced in the Notice to be published.
The ANM will use the following priority criteria for area allocation:
Brazilian citizens and companies incorporated in Brazil may participate, provided they are duly registered with the ANM and on the Digital Citizenship Platform and have registered with B3. The following are barred from participating: ANM employees, individuals related to agency members, individuals convicted of environmental crimes, and companies in bankruptcy or judicial reorganization without an approved plan, among other cases provided for in section 7.2 of the draft.
Participation implies full acceptance of the terms of the call for proposals and responsibility for the information provided.
In this stage, participants must register and express their interest; it is at this point that the Registration and Expression of Interest Fee must be paid. This entire process will take place on the B3 Auction Platform, which will provide a specific manual for this auction.
In addition, each participant may express interest in up to 10% of the available areas. After this stage, there are three possible scenarios:
If the property proceeds to the auction phase, any party that has expressed interest is required to participate and must submit a financial bid of more than R$5,000.00, which may be modified until the close of the electronic auction.
The bid with the highest financial value will be declared the winner. In the event of bids of equal value, the chronological order of payment of the expression of interest fee will be taken into account.
The Bid Bond is submitted upon the closing of the bid registration phase for those interested parties who meet the requirements.
Payments for bids and the Auction Fee will be processed through the B3 Platform, which will generate a PIX/QR code covering the total amount due.
Failure to pay for the winning bid will result in the loss of priority rights and the imposition of penalties.
The application for exploration authorization and mining concession for areas acquired during the Public Offering phase or won in an Electronic Auction must be submitted exclusively by the successful applicant or winning bidder through the SOPLE Platform.
For the exploration application, payment of a fee generated by SOPLE is mandatory. Furthermore, the area requested may be smaller than the offered area; applications for more than two exploration areas per offered area will be permitted, provided they comply with the boundaries of the offered area; and exploration may be requested for any substance.
For mining permit applications, polygons with different bearings will be permitted provided that the offered area has this configuration. The essential elements for the mining permit application may be submitted up to one year after the application is filed with SOPLE, and this period may be extended for an equal duration.
If a participant fails to comply with the obligations set forth in the Notice, they are subject to the following penalties:
The 9th Round of Area Availability represents a step forward in the public management of mineral resources, bringing greater transparency, legal certainty, and competitiveness. The operational and regulatory changes require the attention of interested parties, who must prepare to comply with the new requirements and strictly adhere to the deadlines.
The adoption of the B3 Platform, the requirement for financial guarantees, and the limitation on the number of areas per participant are measures that reinforce the seriousness of the process and the pursuit of greater efficiency in the granting of mining titles.
View the DRAFT NOTICE No. 18264331: 9th ROUND OF AVAILABLE AREAS—NOTICE No. 1/2025 in its entirety