Brazil Considers Mining on Indigenous Lands Despite Crackdown

Brazil’s Congress is advancing controversial legislation that could overturn three decades of constitutional protection for Indigenous lands, potentially opening these territories to legal mining operations. The move comes as global demand for critical minerals like gold has reached unprecedented levels, with gold prices nearly tripling in recent years and driving a surge in illegal mining activities across the Amazon.

The scale of unauthorized mining has exploded since 2018, with gold mining areas in the Amazon doubling in just five years—a staggering 1,217% increase since 1985. This illegal activity has devastated Indigenous communities, causing mercury contamination in rivers, accelerating deforestation, and fueling violence, according to a 2025 U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime report.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration has launched aggressive enforcement actions against illegal miners, particularly in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory—Brazil’s largest. These operations have inflicted over $93 million in losses on criminal mining syndicates and destroyed hundreds of illegal camps, excavators, and weapon bunkers linked to organized crime. Similar crackdowns in Sararé and Munduruku territories have significantly reduced mining-affected areas.

However, while the federal government fights illegal mining, Congress is moving in the opposite direction. Bills PL 1331/2022 and PL 6050/2023, which would legalize mining and other large-scale economic activities on Indigenous lands, are currently advancing through the legislative process. This contradiction highlights the tension between environmental protection, Indigenous rights, and economic pressures driven by the global appetite for critical minerals.