Minas Gerais Panel Grants Preliminary Licenses for Viridis and Meteoric Rare-Earth Projects

Overview

• Copam’s Mining Activities Commission approved preliminary environmental licenses for Viridis’s Colossus project in Poços de Caldas and Meteoric’s Caldeira project in Caldas after a seven-hour meeting.
• Voting results recorded 10–0 in favor for Colossus with one absence and one counselor impeded, and 11–0 in favor for Caldeira with one absence.
• The licença prévia confirms environmental viability and compatibility with law but does not authorize construction or operation, which require installation and operating licenses.
• The review had been postponed in November after oversight bodies, including the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, requested more information, and civil society groups pressed for another delay during Friday’s session.
• Viridis’s Colossus spans 228.62 km² and targets ion-adsorption clays, while both projects seek to advance rare-earth supply for technologies where China is the dominant producer.