The high appreciation of gold in the international market has fueled the growth of illegal mining in Brazil, largely in the Amazon, according to a study released on Tuesday (6).
Gold mining in Brazil, the world’s 14th largest producer of the metal last year, has soared since the Covid pandemic pushed international prices to record levels.
Of the 112 tons of gold produced in Brazil in 2021, at least 7% were of illegal origin and 25% of potentially illegal origin, according to a study by the UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais).
“From 2020 to 2021 there was a 44% increase in the illegal amount of gold” produced in the country, says the study, which finds a similar trend in the first six months of 2022.
High prices are fueling the gold rush in the Brazilian Amazon, where deforestation for mining reached a record 121 km² last year, according to Inpe’s (National Institute for Space Research) satellite monitoring system.
The UFMG study reveals that at least 23% of deforestation for mining in the Amazon, a biome considered fundamental to contain climate change, occurs within indigenous reserves, environmental conservation areas and other lands protected by law.
Garimpeiros linked to organized crime are accused of numerous abuses in indigenous communities, including poisoning rivers with the mercury used to separate gold from sediment and, at times, deadly attacks on residents.
The study indicates that 98% of illegal gold mining in Brazil is concentrated in three municipalities in the north of Pará, mainly affecting indigenous lands of the Kayapó and Munduruku peoples.
Along with growing international pressure facing the government of Jair Bolsonaro due to the accelerated destruction of the Amazon, federal prosecutors have filed court appeals to demand that the government adopt stricter controls to combat illegal mining.
Prosecutors estimate that between January 2021 and June 2022 illegal mining caused a cost of BRL 39 billion in socio-environmental damage, according to the study. This value almost reaches the total profit obtained from the sale of gold in the same period, of R$ 44.6 billion.
Taxes collected by the government from gold mining represent less than 2% of the value of the losses.
“In the Amazon, we have a loss that is collectivized, socialized and the profit from these operations is concentrated on a few actors”, says engineer Bruno Manzolli, the main author of the UFMG study.
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