UK company mining gold in Amazon on disputed land
London-listed Serabi Gold extracting gold without approval of Brazilian land registry and Indigenous communities
Fernanda Wenzel and Jonathan Watts
Tue 18 Apr 2023 10.00 EDT
A London-listed company has been mining gold in the Amazon rainforest without approval from the Brazilian land agency or the consent of nearby Indigenous communities, according to an investigation by the Guardian and partners.
Serabi Gold has been blasting 4.5 metre-wide tunnels and trucking ore from the Coringa project site in Pará state. But interviews with land agency officials and documents seen by the Guardian, Unearthed and Sumaúma indicate that ownership of the area is disputed and the land was allegedly occupied by illegal land-grabbers.
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The Coringa mine is located in an area known as Terra Nossa. Until 2003, this was a part of Baú Indigenous land, where the Kayapó Mekrãgnoti people live. In 2006 the government land agency Incra set aside this part of the Baú land for settlement by small-scale family farmers.
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The mine started exploratory production last year and Serabi reported 1,013 ounces (28.7 kg) of gold from Coringa. In future, it aims to extract more than a tonne of gold, worth $70m (£56m) each year. But this is happening against a complex and confusing backdrop. It appears that the company is operating with no approval from the land agency, without the consent of nearby Indigenous groups and without the payment of a fee to those who have made a rival claim to the property.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/18/uk-company-mining-gold-in-amazon-on-disputed-land-brazil
