The Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) of the Municipal Chamber of Marabá in the Brazilian state of Pará says that Vale, a major mining company, failed to pass on to the municipality for the exploration of gold and silver at the Salobo copper mine over the last ten years.
The alleged sum of under-declared value is said to be around R$400 million ($82 million), mining.com reports.
The CPI alleges the company did not declare how much gold and silver was extracted from the Salobo mine, saying the miner did not pay financial compensation to the Union, States, Federal District, and Municipalities for the economic use of mineral resources in their respective territories, called CFEM.
“According to our calculation, it is around R$241 million, which when adjusted amounts to R$400 million,” councilor Marcelo Alves said.
The councilor and president of the CPI questioned the non-declaration of the gold from the Salobo project by the mining company.
The company says it regularly collects taxes and duties, observing state legislation.
“Vale clarifies that the final product from the Sossego and Salobo mines is copper concentrate. CFEM is collected in accordance with the specific legislation on the subject and is based on the pricing of this concentrate, which includes other minerals contained, such as gold and silver,” the miner said in an emailed statement to mining.com.
“At a recent meeting of the CPI in Marabá, the company demonstrated that the amounts collected already include all the minerals contained in the copper concentrate, with no payment pending,” Vale added.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished
