Mining has expanded in Brazil at an unprecedented pace over the past decade. A new survey by MapBiomas released on Wednesday (13) shows that 58% of all mined areas in the country since 1500 were opened between 2015 and 2024. Two-thirds of this expansion took place in the Amazon, consolidating it as the main hub of mineral extraction in Brazil. This boom coincided with a period of falling international commodity prices, which pushed mining companies to expand operations in search of higher profits. Meanwhile, the traditional mining axis in the Southeast (Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and Espírito Santo) faced exhaustion and criminal scandals such as the dam collapses in Mariana (2015) and Brumadinho (2019).
The result was a shift of large-scale projects to the North, such as Vale’s S11D complex in Pará, considered the world’s largest iron mining site. “This expansion logic is typical of capital: when one territory collapses, companies move on to another,” explains Charles Trocate, head of the Movement for Popular Sovereignty in Mining (MAM).
Political deregulation fueling expansion
Researchers and activists stress that mining’s exponential growth is not only about global demand but also the direct result of Brazilian political choices. In 2017, Michel Temer’s government approved decrees that weakened the Mining Code, reduced penalties, opened protected areas for exploitation, and created the National Mining Agency while keeping Brazil among the countries with the lowest royalty rates.
Under Jair Bolsonaro, deregulation accelerated: environmental licensing was weakened, wildcat mining in the Amazon was stimulated, and even agrarian reform settlements were opened to mining operations. César Diniz, coordinator of MapBiomas’ mining and coastal team, is clear: “Although geology and economics matter, the main driving force behind Amazon mining expansion is Brazil’s own internal politics at municipal, state, and federal levels.”
He points out that legal milestones paved the way: the 2008 Garimpeiro Statute, which exempted artisanal miners from research permits, and the 2013 law that presumed “good faith” in gold transactions – effectively enabling the trade of gold without verifying its origin. That loophole was only revoked in 2023 by the Supreme Court.
Human and environmental devastation
The decade also left deep scars on communities. The tragedies of Mariana and Brumadinho killed hundreds, destroyed rivers and villages, and caused contamination that persists today. In Maceió, entire neighborhoods sank due to Braskem’s salt extraction – a disaster revealed in 2018 that displaced thousands of residents.
Beyond the disasters, expansion advanced over Indigenous lands, quilombola territories, riverine villages, and agrarian reform settlements. “Where mining arrives, so do destruction, contaminated water and soil, and the expulsion of entire communities,” says Trocate.
New frontiers: Indigenous and protected lands
With traditional areas exhausted and international demand growing for “green transition” minerals like lithium, cobalt and rare earths, new frontiers are in the crosshairs. Between 2019 and 2022, three bills in Congress proposed opening Indigenous lands and national forests to mining, even authorizing the president to approve extractions anywhere in “economic crisis.” Although partially vetoed, the initiatives reflect a political project that remains alive.
“There is a continuous political project to open protected territories to mining, through both legislation and administrative decrees,” warns Diniz.
Illegal gold mining and geopolitics
Gold mining in the Amazon has exploded. Between 1985 and 2022, the area grew more than sixfold, reaching 241,000 hectares – including 25,000 inside 17 Indigenous territories. The most dramatic growth occurred between 2016 and 2022, with a 361% increase in Indigenous lands. The Kayapó territory alone registered a 1,339% surge.
A 2022 decree under Bolsonaro created a commission to “support small-scale mining,” but in practice it legitimized industrial-scale operations disguised as artisanal. MapBiomas satellite images show that nearly 80% of gold mines detected in 2022 had clear signs of illegality.
Trocate warns that illegal mining is now part of a larger economic system: “The rise in gold prices amid dollar instability has fueled the rush. Agrobusiness, big corporations, and organized crime are working together to finance and export illegal gold. It’s a network that feeds on destruction.”
“Brazil is not a mining country, it is a mined country”
Despite being the world’s second-largest iron producer and a major bauxite and gold exporter, mining represents only about 2.4% of Brazil’s GDP. Almost all of it leaves the country with minimal processing, leaving added value abroad.
Iron production jumped from 349 million tons in 2015 to over 460 million in 2024; gold production rose 55% in the same period. Yet the profits largely leave Brazil. “Saying Brazil is a mining country is a lie,” argues Trocate. “Brazil is mined. The wealth goes abroad, and what remains here is destruction, contamination, and misery.”
