By Brazil Stock Guide – A Brazilian judge ordered Sigma Mineração, the operating unit of Sigma Lithium, to deposit R$50 million in court within 10 days over alleged environmental and social damage linked to its Grota do Cirilo lithium mine in Minas Gerais.
The injunction, issued by Judge Patrícia Bergamaschi de Araújo, is part of a civil action filed by the Minas Gerais Public Prosecutor’s Office. The funds are intended to support emergency resettlement, public health measures and independent technical assistance for affected communities.
The decision also orders the company to suspend noisy activities between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. in areas affecting the rural communities of Poço Dantas, Ponte do Piauí and Santa Luzia, in the Jequitinhonha Valley.
Prosecutors allege that Sigma’s own monitoring reports showed excessive levels of fine particulate matter, noise and vibration near the mine. According to the case, PM2.5 levels exceeded Brazil’s annual limit of 20 µg/m³ at all monitored community sites in 2023.
At Poço Dantas 1, the annual average reached 26.68 µg/m³, with a monthly peak of 73.72 µg/m³ in October, above the daily Brazilian limit of 60 µg/m³. Prosecutors also said 67.2% of daytime noise readings and 87.5% of nighttime readings exceeded technical limits.
Sigma has argued in court that the alleged impacts are already being monitored by Minas Gerais environmental authorities and should be handled by the competent regulatory agency.
The case adds pressure to one of Brazil’s most visible lithium projects, as the country seeks to position the Jequitinhonha Valley as a hub for minerals used in the global energy transition.