STJ orders mining company to stop exploring Serra do Curral – 04/28/2023 – Environment

The STJ (Superior Court of Justice) determined this Thursday (27) the suspension of the activities of the mining company Gute Sicht in Serra do Curral, a postcard of Belo Horizonte. The decision accepts an appeal filed by the prefecture of the capital of Minas Gerais.

The decision by the STJ is one more in a series of judicial decisions, until then taken by the state and federal courts in Minas Gerais, in actions that try to prevent the exploitation of iron ore in the region.

The mining company had been operating in Serra do Curral after a preliminary decision by the Federal Court in Minas Gerais taken on the 15th.

Until then, it had been stopped, since January of this year, by decision of the lower court in Minas Gerais.

Questions against the project are in the sense that Gute Sicht operates without proper licensing and within a protected area. The company accumulates environmental fines imposed by the city hall that add up to R$ 6.5 million.

Gute Sicht’s lawyer, Guilherme Ribeiro Grimaldi said that he would not comment on the position of the STJ because he had not yet had access to the decision, which was taken by the President of the Court and rapporteur of the case, Minister Maria Thereza de Assis Moura.

Part of the court decisions is also related to the investigation by the Federal Police into authorizations for the company to operate in the region.

The appeal presented by the City Hall of Belo Horizonte stated that “criminal mutilation of a listed cultural asset” had been taking place.

The deputy attorney general of the city, Caio Perona, classified the decision as a significant milestone in the preservation of Serra do Curral.

“It is of enormous importance because it is the first position on the subject coming from Brasilia, which ensures greater stability in the understanding of the Judiciary and strengthens security in the protection of the listed property”, he evaluated.