Government authorizes appointment of 55 civil servants to reinforce ANM
The Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services authorized the appointment of 55 successful candidates in the ANM (National Mining Agency) competition, amid criticism about the agency's lack of structure and the increase in the body's responsibilities in the mineral sector.
The ordinance, signed by Minister Esther Dweck and published in the Official Gazette of the Union, authorizes the additional provision of 45 positions of specialist in mineral resources and 10 of administrative analyst.
Appointments, however, still depend on the existence of vacancies on the date of appointment and a declaration from ANM on the budgetary and financial adequacy of the new expenses.
The authorization comes days after the agency itself warned that the R$22.6 million cut in the budget could affect strategic activities, such as the inspection of dams and mining piles, the fight against illegal mining, the collection of mining royalties, the analysis of new ventures and the technological modernization of the regulatory agenda.
According to ANM, budget restrictions deepen a continuous process of limiting resources that reduces the operational capacity of the institution responsible for regulating and supervising mineral activity in the country. The agency states that some areas are already facing difficulties in maintaining their activities.
The reinforcement of personnel also takes place at a time of expansion of ANM's responsibilities.
The agency began to play an even more relevant role in discussions about critical and strategic minerals, a topic that gained priority in the federal government and Congress in the face of the global dispute for inputs used in batteries, defense, clean energy and technology.
The critical minerals bill, approved by the Chamber of Deputies and now under analysis in the Senate, foresees new functions for the State in organizing the mineral chain, with screening mechanisms, approval of operations and incentives for adding value in the national territory. In practice, the policy tends to increase the demand on the ANM's technical structure.
The private sector has defended the strengthening of the agency as a condition to provide legal security to the market. Mining companies and investors argue that any expansion of the State's role in the mineral chain needs to be accompanied by technical criteria, regulatory predictability and the operational capacity of the responsible bodies.
Despite the authorization to appoint new employees, members of the sector assess that the number is still insufficient given the volume of mining processes, inspection of dams and the new agenda linked to critical minerals.
Source: CNN