PutAndrea Vialli — For Valor, from Salvador
29/04/2026

As a spearhead of the energy transition, mining has been increasingly confronted about its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. Today, the sector faces the challenge of reconciling increased production, growing demand for low-carbon products and processes, and the so-caled social license to operate, which involves the not always amicable relationship with communities near the projects and the impact on the environment. After disasters involving tailings dams and with new investments in critical minerals entering the equation, the bar for sustainability in mining has been raised, according to experts and the companies themselves.
“The energy transition agenda is bringing more investment to mining projects in Brazil. Dealing with environmental conflicts and land access issues will be a key focus for the sector, and mediating these conflicts is where the expertise lies,” says Rinaldo Mancin, director of sustainability and associative affairs at the Brazilian Mining Institute (Ibram).

The Brazilian segment of the “Top 10 business risks and opportunities for mining and metals” study, a global study by the consulting firm EY, corroborates this perception. Operating licenses are among the top three issues in the mining sector, behind capital and increased profits and productivity. ESG factors occupy the seventh position in the survey, which poled 500 executives in the mining and metals sector. In addition to community relations, other themes that appear in the research are mitigating impacts on biomes, decarbonization, and the climate agenda, says Afonso Sartorio, leader of energy and natural resources at EY.

To perform well in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) areas, companies have been investing in cleaner production processes and products with a smaller carbon footprint. One such product is “pellet feed” iron ore, which has been called “green ore” because it allows for a reduction of up to 50% in greenhouse gas emissions in the steel industry. Ultrafine and with a high iron content (above 66%), it requires less coal or coke in the blast furnace for steel production. The product has growing demand in markets such as Europe and the Middle East and guides the expansion plans of several companies. One of them is Cedro Mineração, which operates in Nova Lima and Mariana, in the iron quadrangle of Minas Gerais, and produces 7 million tons/year of iron ore. The new plant in Mariana, currently undergoing environmental licensing, will produce 5.5 million tons of “pellet feed,” destined for export.

Premium iron ore plays a strategic role in the global market, contributing to the decarbonization of the steel supply chain.
Ana Cunha

The project is based on several sustainability principles, according to Fabiano Carvalho, commercial and strategy vice-president of Cedro. “It will be a model plant. In addition to high-value-added iron ore, we will have dry stacking replacing the tailings dam, electric trucks, and an electric conveyor belt, which should significantly reduce the operation’s carbon emissions,” says the executive. According to him, the conveyor belt will carry the ore from Mariana to the port of Vitória, reducing the environmental impacts of road transport, such as diesel and dust.

“Pellet feed” is also the main product of Anglo American’s Minas-Rio System operation, which connects mines located in Conceição do Mato Dentro and Alvorada de Minas to the Açu Port terminal in São João da Barra (RJ) via pipeline. In 2025, 24.8 million tons were produced, with an average iron content between 67% and 68%. “Today, premium iron ore plays a strategic role in the global market, contributing to the decarbonization of the steel chain and to the advancement of the energy transition,” says Ana Cunha, director of corporate affairs and sustainability at Anglo American.

Focusing on the production of pellet feed and HBI (hot-dip galvanized iron), the Ferro Verde project, a joint venture between the British mining company Brazil Iron and the Companhia Baiana de Produção Mineral (CBPM), foresees an investment of US$5.7 billion in integrated production, from mining to final products. The project is planned to be a zero-carbon operation, 100% supplied by renewable sources and green hydrogen. “The ‘greenfield’ nature of the undertaking will allow us to adopt modern engineering principles from the outset. By using low-carbon electricity in the process, we are positioning Bahia as one of the most strategic locations in the world for the production of green iron and HBI,” says Emerson Souza, vice-president of institutional relations at Brazil Iron.
Environmental issues and community relations, however, are a sensitive point of the project, located in the municipalities of Piatã, Abaíra, and Jussiape, in the Chapada Diamantina region. The region is home to a national park and is considered the water tower of Bahia, concentrating three of the largest hydrographic basins, in addition to being home to traditional communities. The Environmental Impact Study (EIA) foresees 17 ESG projects to manage and mitigate damages, including the formation of monitoring committees for the projects in Piatã and Abaíra – composed of members of local civil society and local public authorities – as wel as continuous monitoring of fauna, flora, and water resources, and encouragement of the hiring of regional suppliers. “The monitoring of socio-environmental variables is already happening and will continue to be rigorous,” says Souza.

As Brazil positions itself as an exporter of strategic mineral resources, civil society organizations are warning about the use of socio-environmental discourse as a shield to promote regulatory easing and grant more tax benefits to mining companies. In a technical note published at the end of April, the Institute for Socioeconomic Studies (Inesc) warns about these points in Bil 2780/2024, which is being processed in the Chamber of Deputies and proposes a regulatory framework for critical minerals.

The sector positions itself as an agent of the energy transition. But there is a gap between discourse and practice.
A. Cardoso.

According to the report, there is a political movement by large mining companies to expand their comparative advantages and profits, subverting the climate discourse for their own benefit. “The sector presents itself as an agent of the energy transition and of good practices, which makes its projects eligible for ESG financing lines. But there is a gap between discourse and practice,” says Alessandra Cardoso, political advisor at Inesc.

Photo: Divulgação

Source: Under pressure, the mining sector tries to reduce its environmental impact.