The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) requested, this Monday (9), the suspension of the authorization for mining exploration in stretches of the Rio Negro that bathe practically untouched indigenous lands in the Amazon.
The MPF asks the National Mining Agency (ANM) to provide for the “immediate suspension of all active research or mining requests incident on the Médio Rio Negro 1 and Medium Rio Negro 2 Indigenous Lands, in the Municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira/ AM”.
According to the MPF, there are a total of 33 applications for mining, research or licensing within this area, the vast majority relating to gold exploration.
as showed the Sheetthe head of the GSI (Institutional Security Office) of the Presidency, General Augusto Heleno, authorized the progress of seven mining projects in reserved areas of the Amazon — five of them in the aforementioned stretches of the Rio Negro.
In addition to being the head of the GSI, Heleno is also the executive secretary of the National Defense Council, a position that gives him the authority to say yes or no to mining ventures on the border.
It was the first time that a decision like this had occurred in the body – which serves to advise the president on matters of sovereignty and defense – in at least ten years.
At the request of the report, Ipam (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia) analyzed the geographic coordinates of the seven authorized projects and identified the five that touch the Middle Rio Negro 1 and Middle Rio Negro 2 sections.
In both spaces live 3,300 indigenous people, according to a database updated by ISA (Instituto Socioambiental). They are from 11 different ethnicities: Arapaso, Baniwa, Baré, Dâw, Desana, Koripako, Mirity-Tapuya, Pira-Tapuya, Tariana, Tukano and Yuhupde.
The Constitution prohibits mining on indigenous land. This type of exploitation is only possible if there is authorization by Congress, which has not occurred.
The Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government wants to free up mining on these lands. For this, in 2020 it sent a bill to Congress that regulates the authorization to be given. The proposal is stalled in the Chamber.
Sought after, Heleno and GSI did not respond until the publication of this text.
The MPF’s request was made by prosecutor Ariane Guebel de Alencar, from the Attorney General’s Office of the state of Amazonas.
She responded to a public action filed by federal deputy Elias Vaz de Andrade (PSB-GO) and by senator Jorge Kajuru (Podemos-GO).
“It is necessary to prevent the Bolsonaro government from passing the herd. We hope that Justice will comply with our request and suspend mining on indigenous lands”, stated Elias Vaz.
In addition to the five river fronts that divide the two territories, the largest area released by the GSI — 9,676 hectares — extends through another territory of the Union, despite the fact that the responsible enterprise has informed that the gold exploration would take place in “third-party property”.
The Ipam maps show a rural property, but the extension of the area includes a preserved area of ​​the Union.
Technicians from the institute, a non-governmental scientific research organization, found that there is a CAR (Rural Environmental Registry) record for the area, which is adjacent to the Pico da Neblina National Park. This would mean an attempt to appropriate an area that is public, which is irregular.
The maps produced by Ipam do not show the exact location of the seventh area authorized by the GSI minister.
The mining projects authorized by Heleno are advancing in a region known as Cabeça do Cachorro, which is located in São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM), the most indigenous city in Brazil. 23 ethnic groups live in this part of the Amazon biome.
The seven authorizations for the region of São Gabriel da Cachoeira cover an area of ​​12,700 hectares. One of them, in addition to gold, allows for niobium and tantalum research. This undertaking is what is glued to the Pico da Neblina Park.
After the revelations of SheetElias Vaz’s office mapped the areas with similar conclusions to the analysis by Ipam and also found that the ANM denied authorizations to search for gold in neighboring areas on the Negro River, on the grounds that this type of exploration on land is prohibited. indigenous.
In the civil suit signed by him and Senator Kajuru, 16 requirements are listed. In response to the MPF, the ANM listed a total of 33 mining requirements within the aforementioned Rio Negro region.
It is now up to the Court to accept, or not, the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
