Brazil gold mining rush brings deforestation and mercury risks to the Amazon
Summary
Rising gold prices have caused more illegal mining in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, leading to increased deforestation and harmful mercury pollution. New studies show mining activities are damaging protected areas and Indigenous lands, with enforcement efforts struggling to stop the illegal operations.Key Facts
- Illegal gold mining has increased in the Amazon due to higher gold prices.
- Mining is causing deforestation in protected conservation areas in the Xingu region.
- Satellite images show nearly 223,000 hectares (about 551,000 acres) of forest cleared for mining since 2018 in the Brazilian Amazon.
- Most mining-related deforestation (around 80%) is believed to be illegal.
- Mercury contamination from mining is a serious health and environmental risk.
- Illegal mining often targets protected and Indigenous territories, which help preserve the forest.
- Efforts to stop illegal mining include destroying mining equipment, but miners often return or move elsewhere.
- In 2023, a major crackdown reduced illegal mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory, but overall illegal mining continues across the Amazon.
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