Brazil: SpaceX’s internet service vital for irregular mining to gain current scale in Yanomami territory, allege Indigenous leaders
Instituto Socioambiental (ISA)
According to a report by Brasil de Fato, Starlink, the internet service from Elon Musk's SpaceX company, is being sold by illegal miners - the so called garimpeiros - in the Roraima state since November 2022, with one of the highest connection speeds in the country. This trade would occur in the same WhatsApp groups in which the miners sell the ores they extract illegally.
According to Indigenous leaders, until the arrival of Starlink, communication between the illegal miners was by radio, a method that was much less efficient. Starlink is thus increasing the productivity of illegal mining in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory to an extent never seen before.
The BHRRC invited SpaceX to comment on the allegations, but the company did not respond.
To Brasil de Fato, the legal representative of Starlink in Brazil, Vitor Urner, said that he is not authorized to issue public statements.