en.Wedoany.com Reported - Brazil's National Mining Agency (ANM) on the 30th rejected Vale's appeal to revoke a mining royalty of R$190.86 million, related to iron ore extraction activities at the Carajás Mine (Mina de Carajás) in the municipality of Parauapebas, Pará, between 2016 and 2017.
Vale requested the deduction of costs related to transportation, insurance, and taxes (ICMS and PIS-Cofins) from the calculation base of the Financial Compensation for Mineral Resource Exploration (Cfem, Compensação Financeira pela Exploração de Recursos Minerais). During oral arguments, Vale's representative, André Luiz Bündchen, argued for the deduction of ore transportation costs from the mine to the Port of Ponta da Madeira, Maranhão. His lawyer stated that the agency holds an "erroneous" view, considering the nearly 900-kilometer Carajás Railway as an "extension" of the mine. Bündchen claimed that the railway transports a "finished" mineral product after beneficiation at the Carajás Mine, with the ore being "fully processed" and the extraction stage completed.
The mining company's arguments were rejected by the rapporteur, Director Fábio Borges, whose vote was approved by other board members. Borges cited rulings from the Superior Court of Justice (STF, Superior Tribunal de Justiça) supporting the legality of ANM's calculation and collection of the fee. Regarding transportation costs, the mining company's representative also discussed the method of recording invoice amounts. The ANM Director noted that agency regulations require transportation costs to be entered in the "freight" field of the invoice, not in the "remarks" field as Vale did, without including them in the total amount. According to the approved vote, Vale attempted to deduct taxes by distinguishing between "accrued" taxes and "accounted" taxes. The Director stated that regulations allow only "actually accounted taxes" to be deducted, preventing an "artificial reduction of the Cfem calculation base."
During the board meeting, an appeal by Alcoa World Alumina Brasil regarding the Cfem collection for bauxite mining in the municipality of Juruti, Pará, in 2014 was also rejected, with the debt of R$7.9 million upheld by ANM.
