A Bahian appeals judge on Thursday (19) overturned the suspension of the sale of mining assets from Canadian Equinox Gold to Chinese CMOC, including a mine in Santaluz. State-owned CBPM had challenged it for lack of prior notice. The US$ 1 billion deal now moves forward.
Appeals judge Cláudio Césare Braga Pereira of the TJ-BA accepted appeals from Equinox Gold and CMOC, overturning the March 3 suspension ordered by a lower court judge. That ruling had sided with Companhia Baiana de Pesquisa Mineral (CBPM), which claimed it was not notified of the deal, breaching a lease clause for the Santaluz (BA) gold mine. Until December 2025, Equinox and CBPM had an agreement generating US$ 290 million in annual revenue for the Canadian firm through royalties to the Bahian state company. Late 2025 saw CMOC buy all of Equinox's Brazilian assets—mines in Bahia, Minas Gerais, and Maranhão—for US$ 1 billion, with US$ 900 million paid upfront and US$ 115 million a year later. The firms argued there was no direct control change in Santa Luz Desenvolvimento Mineral, the leaseholder, but an indirect one in its parent. In his ruling, the judge stated: “alterações societárias na composição de grandes empresas é fato comum, e não podem servir, por si só, para caracterizar burla ao dispositivo contratual, cuja demonstração exige um exame mais aprofundado” [corporate changes in large firms are common and cannot alone indicate contract breach, requiring deeper review]. He upheld a 15-day document submission deadline and found no evidence of breached trust. Equinox Gold noted: “O tribunal entendeu que reestruturações societárias são atividades empresariais normais para grandes companhias e não configuram automaticamente descumprimento contratual. Também reconheceu que a operação envolveu uma mudança de controle indireto” [the court recognized restructurings as normal and indirect control change]. CBPM declined comment; CMOC had not responded by publication. A hearing is set for March 30.
