en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) of Brazil opened a public consultation on July 9 for the draft National Action Plan for Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (PAN-MAPE de Ouro). This initiative aligns with the guidelines of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, to which Brazil is a signatory. The public can submit comments through the MME and Brasil Participativo public consultation portals until August 7.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury guides countries in developing national strategies to reduce the impacts of mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining, while considering the specific characteristics of such activities in each country.

The draft plan brings together actions related to activity governance, enterprise formalization, adoption of mercury-free technologies, strengthening institutional capacity, and improving monitoring and control mechanisms. The plan is coordinated by the MME and developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), the Ministry of Health (MS), the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI), the National Mining Agency (ANM), the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), the Mineral Technology Center (CETEM), research institutions, international organizations, and social representatives.

The document is based on the National Diagnosis of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining prepared by the Center for Research on Responsible Small-Scale Mining at the University of São Paulo (NAP.Mineração/USP), with support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

This public consultation aims to gather input from civil society, the productive sector, academia, public institutions, and other stakeholders. These contributions will be analyzed and may support the finalization of the national action plan to be submitted by Brazil under the Minamata Convention on Mercury.