Brazil court blocks Equinox Gold mineral rights transfer to CMOC

Reuters | March 3, 2026 | 2:59 pm Regulatory Issues China Latin America Gold

Mining fleet at Aurizona gold mine. Credit: Equinox Gold Corp.

A Brazilian court on Tuesday blocked Canadian firm Equinox Gold from transferring mineral rights for gold mines it sold in the Latin American country to Chinese metals miner and processor CMOC Group, according to a court decision.

Equinox Gold concluded the sale of gold assets in Brazil to CMOC in a $1 billion deal earlier this year.

The judge blocked the transfer of rights for assets located in the northeastern Bahia state. The decision came following complaints from local state-run firm CBPM, which leases these mineral assets and said the deal breaks the leasing contract.

The press office of CMOC Group in Brazil and Equinox Gold did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CBPM’s president Henrique Carballal said in a statement the decision underscores “the irregularity in the negotiation of a mineral asset belonging to the people of Bahia state.”

(By Ricardo Brito and Andre Romani; Editing by Natalia Siniawski and Iñigo Alexander)