Novos rumos do Direito Minerário: análise jurídico-normativa à luz do Direito Ecológico.

Abstract

Occupying a prominent position in the mining sector, being among the six most important mineral countries in the world, holding reserves of approximately 40 types of metallic and non-metallic minerals and a geodiversity that guarantees it worldwide relevance in the extractive sector, the Brazilian mineral economy has been facing, however, a series of challenges that inform the need to re-discuss issues related to mining. In the midst of the tendency to undertake mining projects, with significant impacts on the use of natural resources, on the lives of peoples and surrounding communities and even on the adjacent ecological interactions, the study proposes the resolution of the following problem: what are the possible paths to reach a harmonization of Mining Law in the light of an ecocentric legalnormative model? It starts from the hypothesis that said harmonization can be achieved from a systematic application of the Environmental Licensing, the Environmental Impact Study and Report, the Mine Rehabilitation and Closing Program and the Area Recovery Plan Degraded, although these are not exhausted, since the reach of sustainable mining requires multilevel environmental control, in line with the humanities and their rich interactions with the environment. Thus, the study is carried out as follows: the objective is, in general, to analyze mining regulation in the light of Ecological Law, while, in a specific way, it aims to:dimension said regulation in legal-normative terms, according to the content of an ecocentric paradigm applicable to mining; indicate the theoretical collection that guides the understanding about the Social and Environmental Justice paradigm and its projection in jurisprudential terms; present global parameters of sustainable development applicable to mining through the lens of International Sustainability and systematically expose the instruments of Environmental Licensing, Environmental Impact Studies, Mine Closure Plans and Recovery of Degraded Areas, suggesting their potential for harmonization in the context of Paraíba, through a theoretical, documentary and empirical approach, using the systematic hermeneutic method and the “in-depth interview” or “semi-structured” research technique, aiming to contribute to the proposition of a systemic view of the branch, fostering a rapprochement of Mining Law with Environmental Law, through a readjustment of its regulatory mechanisms. Among the main results obtained, the relevance of the processes of participation and prior consultation in the elaboration of plans and insertion of impact mitigating actions stands out, in addition to the urgency in dealing with matters that reach the socioenvironmental function of mining companies and the challenges faced daily in the common search for more sustainable mining models.