President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) issued a decree to institute the Pro-Mapa (Program to Support the Development of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining).
The idea is to stimulate mining and direct actions to the Legal Amazon region.
Bolsonaro has defended the activity, including illegal mining on indigenous and preserved lands, since before he became president.
In a note, the General Secretariat of the Presidency said that the program “inaugurates a new perspective of public policies on mining activity in Brazil.”
as showed the leafthe government even authorized gold exploration projects in one of the most preserved areas of the Amazon, but it backed off and canceled the permits.
In addition, authorizations for niobium exploration in the Amazon more than doubled under Bolsonaro, an enthusiast and promoter of the metal.
The advance of mining in the Amazon is pointed out by environmentalists and researchers as a threat to preservation and indigenous peoples.
According to the decree published this Monday (14) in the Official Gazette, Pró-Mape must “integrate and strengthen” policies for the development of artisanal and small-scale mining in Brazil, in addition to encouraging “best practices” and “formalization of the activity” of those who are involved in these activities.
It must also “promote synergy between the interested parties and those involved in the production chain of the mineral good”.
The same decree creates Comape (Interministerial Commission for the Development of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining), which must “guide and coordinate actions” to strengthen activities linked to Pro-Mape.
This commission will be coordinated by the Ministry of Mines and Energy and composed by the ministries of the Civil House, Citizenship, Justice, Environment and Health. This body will hold biannual meetings.
“The Legal Amazon will be the priority region for the development of Comape’s work”, states the decree.
“It is important to highlight that artisanal and small-scale mining is a source of wealth and income for a population of hundreds of thousands of people, so it is essential that government actions recognize the conditions in which small mining companies live, the scope of their activity and the primary needs of the surrounding society”, states a note from the General Secretariat of the Presidency.
