Illegal gold mining in Brazil has increased considerably in recent years, especially in the Amazon and associated with deforestation, according to a study.
“Illegal gold mining increased by 44% in 2021 compared to 2020,” concluded the study, published this Tuesday by the University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).
Brazil, the 14th largest gold producer in the world, saw its total production increase by 37% between 2019 and 2021, while the price of this metal rose globally due to the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Of the 158 tons of gold produced in the country from January to June 2022, at least 7% was of illegal origin and 23% “potentially illegal”, according to the study.
“The significant increase in the price of gold on the international market has stimulated exploration on new fronts throughout the world, including in Brazil, with the expansion of gold exploration in the Amazon,” highlights the UFMG document.
According to the National Institute for Space Research, a government agency in charge of satellite monitoring, gold mining was directly related to the deforestation of 121 square kilometers in the Amazon last year, a record amount.
The study concluded that at least 23% of the deforestation caused by mining has affected indigenous reserves or other areas supposedly protected by the State.
Experts say the rampant expansion of illegal gold mining is all the more worrying because the destruction of forests is one of the main causes of global warming.
Gold mining also pollutes rivers, due to the mercury used to separate gold particles from the sediment.
The UFMG study showed that 98% of illegal gold production came from the territories of three municipalities in the state of Pará, in northern Amazonas, where there are Kayapó and Mundurukú indigenous reserves.
The government of President Jair Bolsonaro, whose environmental policies have been strongly criticized by the international community, has been the subject of requests from the Federal Public Ministry to take stricter measures to control the origin of the gold.
Prosecutors estimate that the socio-environmental cost of illegal gold mining amounted to 39 billion reais (7.5 billion euros) between January 2021 and June 2022.
This amount is almost equivalent to the value of the gold extracted during this period, estimated at 44.6 billion reais (8.6 billion euros).
Source: TSF
