The asset ladder × the ANM pathway.

A mineral asset climbs two ladders at once: the legal one, in the mining-title process, and the knowledge one, in the reporting-code categories. This page sets them side by side, with the rule behind each step.

• Overview
• Reporting codes
• ANM pathway
• Glossary
• Structures
• Checklist
• CFEM
• Asset sheet

There are two independent tracks. The legal track is the process at the ANM (National Mining Agency): application, exploration permit (alvará), final report, mining application, mining concession (Portaria de lavra). It defines who holds the right, for how long and with which duties. The knowledge track is the set of reporting-code (CRIRSCO) categories: Exploration Target, Inferred, Indicated and Measured Resources, Probable and Proved Reserves. It defines what may be said publicly about the quantity and quality of what is in the ground.

Neither advances on its own: a right at an advanced stage may carry little declared knowledge, and a good resource may sit under a fragile right. IncorpMine reads the two together. Deadlines and rules below are those fixed by statute or regulation; nothing here describes the ANM's processing time.

The ladder, step by step#

1. Occurrence with no titleNo title

   In Brazil (ANM)

   The area is not under a mining right held by the interested party. No priority right arises from merely observing an occurrence.

   In the reporting code

   No reportable category. A showing or anomaly is neither an Exploration Target nor a Resource.

   JORC 2012, cl. 17 and 20
2. Exploration applicationPriority

   In Brazil (ANM)

   Filing gives priority over the area. The exploration application cannot be assigned: the DNPM Normative Consolidation (Ordinance 155/2016, in force as amended up to ANM Res. 225/2025) admits no assignment or transfer of applications for an exploration permit, a licence registration or a PLG.

   In the reporting code

   No reportable estimate. Exploration results, if any, follow the disclosure rules of the applicable code.

   DNPM Ordinance 155/2016, art. 224, §3
3. Exploration permit (alvará)Exploration

   In Brazil (ANM)

   Valid for up to 4 years on the applicant's request, extendable for an equal period; more than one extension only in cases the regulation provides. The annual per-hectare fee (TAH) applies. The permit may be assigned or transferred to a party meeting the legal requirements, and the assignment is valid only once recorded at the ANM (art. 22, I and I-A).

   In the reporting code

   Exploration stage: Exploration Results and, where appropriate, an Exploration Target.

   Mining Code, art. 22, I, I-A and III (Law 14,514/2022); art. 20, II
4. Exploration TargetExploration Target

   In Brazil (ANM)

   An estimate of potential within the exploration stage, before any final report. It does not change the status of the title.

   In the reporting code

   Exploration Target: a range of tonnes and a range of grade. The terms Resource and Reserve must not be used in this context.

   JORC 2012, cl. 17
5. Drilling, QA/QC and first Inferred ResourceInferred Resource

   In Brazil (ANM)

   Exploration work carried out under the permit, whose results feed the final report.

   In the reporting code

   Mineral Resource: a concentration with reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction, in the Inferred category (then Indicated and Measured). Requires sampling data controlled by QA/QC.

   JORC 2012, cl. 20; ANM Resolution 94/2022, art. 4
6. Final Exploration Report (RFP) and its approvalRFP

   In Brazil (ANM)

   The RFP is filed within the permit's term, whatever the result (Decree, art. 25, § 1); failure to file cancels the title (§ 3). Its approval opens the next window. Since Resolution ANM 94/2022 took effect (07 Aug 2022), the RFP uses the art. 4 concepts (art. 10), under the responsibility of a legally qualified professional (art. 11).

   In the reporting code

   Exploration potential, Inferred/Indicated/Measured Resource and, if a study exists, Probable/Proved Reserve. In an RFP filed before the rule took effect, the old "measured/indicated/inferred reserve" is read as a Measured/Indicated/Inferred Resource (art. 9, I), never as a reserve.

   Decree 9,406/2018, art. 25; ANM Resolution 94/2022, arts. 4, 9, 10 and 11
7. 1-year window to apply for miningNegotiable

   In Brazil (ANM)

   Once the RFP is approved, the holder has 1 year to apply for the mining concession, extendable for an equal period on a justified request filed before expiry. Within that period the holder may negotiate the right: assignment is allowed after the permit's term and before the concession is granted (Decree, art. 42, sole paragraph), and the right may be encumbered and given as security (Mining Code, art. 92-A).

   In the reporting code

   The point where a buyer asks what the RFP supports: a Resource, not a Reserve. A Reserve needs a pre-feasibility or feasibility study.

   Mining Code, art. 31 and sole paragraph, and art. 92-A; Decree 9,406/2018, arts. 28 and 42, sole paragraph; JORC 2012, cl. 29
8. Mining application with PAEPAE

   In Brazil (ANM)

   The application is supported by the Economic Development Plan (PAE): processing facilities, indicators of reserves and production, and the mine closure plan.

   In the reporting code

   Ore Reserve: the economically mineable part of a Measured and/or Indicated Resource, defined by a pre-feasibility or feasibility study, with Modifying Factors. A Scoping Study cannot support a Reserve.

   Decree 9,406/2018, art. 32; JORC 2012, cl. 29 and 38
9. Environmental licensing before the grantLicences

   In Brazil (ANM)

   The environmental licence does not accompany the application. The applicant has 60 days, extendable once, to meet requirements and prove that the licensing request was filed with the environmental agency (art. 31, caput and § 1); from then on it shows every six months that licensing is under way, until the licence is presented to the ANM, on pain of refusal (§ 4). The Decree says "environmental licence" without naming which of the three: LP, LI or LO (CONAMA Resolution 237/1997, art. 8).

   In the reporting code

   Environmental, social and governmental Modifying Factors are part of the Reserve definition.

   Decree 9,406/2018, art. 31, caput and §§ 1 and 4; CONAMA Resolution 237/1997, art. 8; JORC 2012, cl. 29
10. Mining concession (Portaria de lavra)Concession

    In Brazil (ANM)

    The mining concession is granted by Ordinance of the Minister of Mines and Energy. For substances under Law 6,567/1978, by ANM Resolution.

    In the reporting code

    Reserves declared on the basis of the approved PAE. Public statements follow the CRIRSCO/CBRR guides.

    Decree 9,406/2018, art. 33, caput and sole paragraph; ANM Resolution 94/2022, art. 5
11. Mining and periodic obligationsProduction

    In Brazil (ANM)

    Mining per the PAE, the Annual Mining Report (RAL) and payment of CFEM on the production sold.

    In the reporting code

    Resources and Reserves are dated estimates: the statement is updated by a Competent Person when material new information arrives.

    Decree 9,406/2018, art. 36; DNPM Ordinance 155/2016, art. 70; Law 13,540/2017; JORC 2012, cl. 9

Side paths#

Not every asset climbs the whole ladder through the exploration permit. Four paths enter or leave it from the side.

Assignment, recording and purchase options#

Assignment or transfer, in whole or in part, of an exploration permit, a mining concession, a licence registration or a PLG is allowed if the assignee meets the constitutional, legal and regulatory requirements (Decree 9,406/2018, art. 42), including after the permit's term and before the concession is granted (sole paragraph). The ANM regulates by Resolution the cases of encumbrance and the recording procedures (art. 44) and keeps a register of contracts aimed at raising funds or forming partnerships (art. 44, sole paragraph). The basis for recording varies with the title: for the permit, the Code itself says the assignment is valid only once recorded at the ANM (art. 22, I-A); for the concession, art. 55, §1. Mining titles and rights, including the right between the end of the permit and the grant, may be encumbered and given as security (art. 92-A, Law 14,514/2022).

Obligations by stage#

Where to look, free of charge#

Three free public ANM sources let you check the status of a right before any conversation:

• SIGMINE: polygons of active and inactive mining processes, downloadable as shapefile and KMZ, generated daily.
• SOPLE: area availability rounds, with public offer and electronic auction.
• ANM dashboards: the portal gathers dashboards on availability, CFEM and dams.