Regulating mining on indigenous lands has returned to the center of political and environmental debate. In August, the Senate Human Rights Committee approved Bill No. 1331/2022, which allows research and mining on indigenous lands as long as there is consent from communities. The proposal, written by Senator Messias de Jesus (Republicans – RR) and reported by Senator Damaris Alves (Republicans – DF), still needs to be analyzed by the Environment Committee, where it awaits the appointment of a rapporteur.
The project is a way to “bring order to chaos,” according to Damaris. “Mining has been going on on indigenous lands for 70 years, and there is no magic formula to get miners out of these areas,” he said. According to the senator, the regulation will allow illegal activity to be replaced by regulated enterprises, with cleaner technologies and the payment of royalties to communities.
The National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai) opposes this. In a technical opinion, the body stated that the text “ignores the need for free, prior and informed consultation,” set out in ILO Convention No. 169, and “imposes deadlines and criteria that are inconsistent with societies’ traditional decision-making methods.” Funai also points out that mining is an activity with a “significant environmental impact,” linked to deforestation, mercury pollution and increased violence.
The Coordination of Indigenous Organizations in the Brazilian Amazon (Coiab) believes that the project “transforms the consultation stipulated in Convention No. 169 into a sham of participation,” subjecting “the indigenous rights of the people to the business logic of the territories.” The Brazilian Mining Institute (IBRAM) in turn confirms the position issued in 2022, according to which Draft Law 191/2020, introduced by the executive and which served as the basis for subsequent discussions on this topic, is not suitable for regulating the exploration of economic activities in indigenous lands.
The entity believes that any regulation must be widely discussed by society and, above all, by indigenous peoples, while respecting their constitutional rights. The institute condemns illegal mining and says that preserving the Amazon region is essential for the future of activity in the country.
The impacts of mining are “brutal”, according to an assessment by the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA). The entity takes a specific position with regard to the case of Potássio do Brasil, a subsidiary of Potássio Brasil, responsible for the Otassio (AM) mining project, in the area of the indigenous community of Mora. The Israel Land Authority notes that although legal activity does not occur within indigenous lands, there are impacts in adjacent areas, such as changes in water quality and social and economic transformations in communities. The ISA notes that there is a threat to the water quality of the Madeira River and the accumulation of waste in indigenous areas.
In May 2024, the Federal Public Ministry of Amazonas (MPF) asked the Federal Court to suspend licenses granted by the Institute for Environmental Protection of Amazonas (Ipaam), highlighting flaws in environmental studies, fragmentation of licenses and lack of state jurisdiction to authorize the project. The MPF also presented new anthropological and environmental reports indicating “serious social and cultural ramifications” among the Mura.
The resistance of these indigenous people gained strength at the eighth general meeting of the Mura people, held in May in the community of Lago Soares, in Otazes. “We are organized and will continue to fight for life, land and justice. The borders are now demarcated. No negotiations. No mining,” the leaders declared in their final message. The event brought together more than 400 participants and was supported by indigenous organizations from several states. The letter reiterates the rejection of mines and the defense of self-demarcation of borders “as a response to the state’s stagnation.”
The Coordination of Indigenous Organizations in the Brazilian Amazon (Coiab), which accompanied the event, denounced that the company “terrorizes and fragments” communities and “repeats the pattern of other mining companies that have destroyed sacred lands in the country.”
Amid this impasse, the Indigenous Missionary Council (Cimi), in a memorandum issued in June, affirmed its confidence in “ensuring indigenous rights and overcoming setbacks.” However, the entity warns that the processing of projects such as PL 1,331/2022 and the progress of projects such as Autazes reflect the “continued neglect of the Brazilian state” in protecting traditionally occupied territories.
When contacted, Potássio do Brasil did not respond by the close of this edition.
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