"Mining companies seek to expand into Brazil’s indigenous territories", 22 February 2022

...The search for new mining areas is expanding into Brazil’s indigenous territories, amid rising mineral revenues and exports, as well as incentives from Jair Bolsonaro's government, a new report has revealed.

In total, 570 mining companies and associations currently have 2,478 active applications filed for mineral research within 261 indigenous lands. They aim to exploit a total area of 10.1 million hectares, almost the size of England. The data...are contained in a new report, released on 22 February by the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) – the country’s largest network of indigenous organisations – and Amazon Watch, an international NGO...

“These applications represent a destruction, a genocide of indigenous peoples,” says Dinaman Tuxá, executive coordinator of APIB. “They represent the socio-environmental conflict that is now established.”

Exploitation in these areas is currently prohibited, but priority can still be guaranteed to companies in the eventuality of laws being approved that allow the advance of activity in indigenous lands...

According to the report, the main targets of the application requests are the Xikrin indigenous lands of Cateté, whose ethnic group has already been almost decimated by the Serra Pelada mine’s operations, and the Waimiri Atroari territory, in Amazonas state. In addition to land invasion, mining activities have destroyed places considered sacred in these regions, affecting cosmologies and rites, the indigenous groups say.

Last year, the Taboca mining company, owned by the Peruvian group Minsur, dumped mining waste into rivers in the Waimiri Atroari territory...

The report, which is now on its fourth edition, also analysed the financing of nine mining companies with significant operations in Brazil: AngloAmerican (UK), Belo Sun and Potássio do Brasil (Canada); Taboca and Mamoré, both owned by Minsur (Peru); Glencore (UK-Switzerland); AngloGold Ashanti (South Africa); Rio Tinto (UK-Australia); and Vale (Brazil).

Besides the operations already permitted in the country, these companies have 225 active mining applications in indigenous territories. Although Vale and AngloAmerican announced the cancellation of their applications last year, the report shows that new applications were made in October 2021...

These corporations have received inflows of US$54.1 billion (R$275 billion) over the past five years, taking into account the value of loans, underwritings, equity and bond investments. The main lenders are from the United States – Capital Group, BlackRock and Vanguard have invested a total of US$14.8 billion – and from Brazil itself, with pension fund Previ and Banco Bradesco investing US$11.8 billion over that period...