The Alliance in Defense of the Territories, political articulation of the Yanomami, Munduruku and Kayapó peoples, launches, this Thursday (16), the dossier “Terra Rasgada: how mining advances in the Brazilian Amazon”.
The document explains the mechanisms that promote the advance of mining, points out the institutional weaknesses of the gold chain and lists a series of measures to combat illegal activity.
The area occupied by mining in Indigenous Lands (TLs) in the region grew 495% between 2010 and 2020. The Kayapó (PA), Munduruku (PA) and Yanomami (RR) territories are the most impacted by illegal gold mining, respectively.
“The report shows how the government can really combat mining, from the full protection of indigenous territories, through the gold chain to commercialization”, says a Kayapó leader who asked not to be identified for fear of threats.
The Alliance, which has been acting since 2021 against mining and other activities that destroy ILs, was in Brasilia last week to deliver the dossier to the Ministries of Environment and Climate Change, Justice, Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights , the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai(), the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (Sesai), the Federal Police and the Brazilian Institute for the Environment (Ibama). “We need this dialogue to build plans together with the government,” he says. Julius Ye’kwana.
The study states that the current mining boom in Brazil was “facilitated by administrative measures and political decisions of the Bolsonaro government” and is responsible for serious and massive violations of the human rights of indigenous peoples, “especially the Kayapó, Munduruku and Yanomami, such as the right to life, territory, self-determination, an ecologically balanced environment, food and nutrition security, health and many others”.
The publication also highlights that the gold trade in Brazil configures an “unconstitutional state of affairs”, since the institutions with legal attribution over the economic chain of gold (National Mining Agency, Central Bank of Brazil and Federal Revenue Service) were silent on his performance.
“Overcoming this scenario requires coordination between these institutions, combined with the strengthening and autonomy of the bodies and entities responsible for inspection, management and territorial protection of protected areas, especially in the fight against illegal mining”, says the dossier.
National Mining Agency
The National Mining Agency (ANM) is identified as one of the main bottlenecks in the gold chain of custody. The autarchy is responsible for granting the Mining Permission (PLG), a document that authorizes the exploitation of an area by mining, limited to 50 hectares for individuals and 10,000 hectares for cooperatives. However, flaws in inspection and the lack of an electronic control system allow illegal activity by garimpeiros, who often concentrate a large number of mining titles.
The PLG regime also waives the need to carry out prior mineral research in the licensing process, which facilitates the occurrence of “ghost mining”, which serves to “heat” the gold illegally exploited in ILs or Conservation Units, for example. Citing the TCU’s diligence released in 2019, the dossier points out that the autarchy occupies the 2nd place in the ranking of the bodies most exposed to fraud and corruption in Brazil, second only to the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT).
Banco Central
The Central Bank (Bacen) is responsible for supervising the Dealers of Titles and Real Estate Securities (DTVMs), the only institutions authorized to buy and resell gold from garimpos, through the Gold Purchase Posts (PCO), the arms of the DTVMs in the municipalities.
The dossier points out that Bacen has flawed inspections and does not sanction the DTVMs involved in the purchase of illegal gold. Only eight institutions have active PCOs in the country, and a third of these posts belong to a single DTVM, FD’Gold. “FD’Gold DTVM, the largest institution in the field, purchased between 2019 and 2020 — according to the MPF — 1,370 kg of illegal gold”.
According to the dossier, the scenario of institutional weakness in Brazil is responsible for the spread of illegal exploitation and gold laundering. A study by the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) that analyzed all prospector mining permits in the country pointed out that in recent years illegal gold production has surpassed the volume of metal mined on a regular basis.
“In Pará and Mato Grosso, states that concentrate 94% of mining authorizations for prospecting in the country, the sale of illegal and potentially illegal gold surpassed that of licit gold in 2019 and 2020 […] In the same period, Pará produced 30.4 tons of gold from mining, of which at least 22.5 tons (74%) were extracted irregularly. According to the study, Itaituba, Jacareacanga and Novo Progresso accounted for 85.7% of clandestine gold trade in the same period”.
Solutions
“Garimpão has a solution, but it has to be systemic and on multiple scales, as is the problem. We wanted to present an overview of basic measures to face the problem, both in terms of the full protection of indigenous lands and in the gold chain”, says Luísa Molina, researcher at the ISA responsible for organizing the dossier.
The publication lists a series of actions to repress the advance of mining
illegal and prevent new invasion fronts, implement existing inspection and control mechanisms and create new mechanisms to prevent the activity. The dossier reinforces the need for inter-institutional articulation within public authorities to ensure the effectiveness of these actions.
“It is not enough to simply put teams in the field and destroy machinery: the criminal organization behind the mining must be effectively dismantled and the use of logistical equipment that supports the illicit act unfeasible”, emphasizes the document.