The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the application of topsoil from a ferruginous rock field on natural regeneration and ground cover in a waste dump. To accomplish this aim, 26 plots of 1 m² and one control were installed systematically. Soil cover was estimated according to the percentage of live coverage, litter and bare soil observed in each plot. A total of 675 individuals, with 201 recorded in the first sampling and 474 in the second, were recorded. In total, 24 species and 11 families were identified, and a group of six was indeterminate, where four species were found in the first sampling and two species in the second sampling. Families with superior wealth in relation to the total were Asteraceae (26.92 %) and Melastomataceae (15.38 %); however, the families that had a higher number of individuals in the sample were Poaceae and Verbenaceae, with 33.33 % and 28.85 %, respectively. Those in the second sampling were Poaceae, Portulacaceae and Verbenaceae, with 93.03 %, 68.16 % and 35.82 %, respectively. Among the habits found, herbaceous was highlighted, with 65.63 % of the sampled individuals, followed by 6.22 % for shrubs, 5.48 % for subshrubs and 1.18 % for trees. The sterile substrate stack does not have to establish favorable conditions for vegetation because the control portion (not topsoil) filled in the two samples with 100 % bare soil.