Gold mining expands fastest on Indigenous lands in Brazil’s Amazon, new analysis finds

SAO PAULO -- Indigenous lands face the greatest threat from the expansion of gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the nonprofit Amazon Environmental Research Institute, known as IPAM.The area affected by gold mining across the Amazon was 20 times larger in 2024 than in 1985. The growth was even more dramatic on Indigenous lands, where mining covered 24 times as much land — and expanded nearly sevenfold between 2016 and 2024 alone.Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have driven a renewed mining rush in the Amazon, spiking deforestation and mercury contamination of riverine and Indigenous communities. IPAM said the mining is aggravating the climate risks facing Indigenous communities. Climate change, driven primarily by human activities that increase greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, has intensified droughts and heat in the Amazon.“Extreme weather events threaten access to water, food, transportation and healthcare,” the nonprofit said. “At the same time, expanding illegal mining contaminates rivers, accelerates environmental degradation and fuels health pr...