A Friday emergency injunction halted mining at the Grota do Cirilo complex and suspended every environmental permit held by Sigma Mineração SA, the operating subsidiary of Sigma Lithium Corp. Judge Antonio Lucio de Oliveira Barbosa wrote that "the risk of damage stems from the fact that the mining complex operates continuously, extracting resources and carrying out constant blasting and earthmoving just a few kilometers away from the traditional territory." He also directed state environmental agencies in Minas Gerais not to issue any new environmental permits to the company.
The order determines the project is located in the community's direct area of influence, triggering the need for environmental studies designed specifically for traditional Afro-Brazilian groups referred to as quilombola. The complaint was filed by the federation representing quilombola communities in Minas Gerais, which alleges the miner inflated the distance between the operation and the Quilombola Community of Baú.
Grota do Cirilo is in Brazil's so-called Lithium Valley and is among the world's largest hard-rock lithium deposits, with an adjacent processing plant. According to the decision, Sigma maintained the project sits beyond the presumed 8-kilometer (5 mile) impact radius, contended that the state's licensing process is lawful, and claimed that, because there are no finalized land deeds, the communities cannot invoke their special protective process.
This is not the project's first pause this year. In July, after a late-May inspection found infractions, the local environmental authority barred activity at Grota do Cirilo in Araçuaí and Itinga. The company denied any misconduct and, following a settlement it executed with the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, resumed mining and industrial operations last month. Sigma did not provide comment in response to an inquiry placed outside Saturday business hours.
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The judge also instructed Minas Gerais environmental agencies not to issue any new permits to the company. The decision states the project is within the Baú community's direct area of influence and requires environmental impact studies tailored to quilombola communities. A separate report cited alongside the decision says Sigma Lithium's CEO expects the Brazilian mine could restart in one to two weeks.
