In a significant victory for the Amazon and Indigenous rights, the environmental licensing process for the Belo Sun mining project in the Volta Grande region of the Xingu River has been successfully shifted from state to federal jurisdiction in a ruling issued on Monday, September 11. The project is now under the authority of the Brazilian environmental agency, IBAMA.
This milestone comes after legal actions and campaign efforts led by civil society organizations, local communities, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Volta Grande Alliance, who have worked tirelessly to denounce Belo Sun’s Volta Grande Project (VGP), a massive gold mine that the Canadian company Belo Sun Mining Corporation aims to carve into the heart of the Brazilian Amazon.
Recently, the legal team from Belo Sun presented arguments related to the mining project’s potential employment benefits and tax contributions to local communities. However, these arguments were challenged by studies indicating that jobs in mining projects tend to last between two and five years.
Two considerations were instrumental in the decision made by the court.
Firstly, the synergistic and cumulative impacts between the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant and the Belo Sun mining operation. Norte Energia itself, the concessionaire responsible for Belo Monte’s operation, challenged the approach of the Secretaria de Meio Ambiente do Pará (Pará’s Environmental Department), which did not assess potential damages to the dam structure resulting from the use of explosives in gold exploration.
Secondly, despite the Belo Sun project not being located on Indigenous lands and, in certain cases, being more than 10 km away from these territories, it was recognized that Indigenous communities would be severely impacted by the project.
The Canadian mining company can still appeal to Brazil’s Supreme Court as this was a federal regional court decision.
Volta Grande Alliance members state:
“This victory highlights the urgent need for a rigorous assessment by IBAMA to prevent a total socio-environmental collapse in the Volta Grande do Xingu region. Although this represents a significant step forward, our fight is far from over. The main objective is to drive Belo Sun out of the Amazon. Now, our efforts turn to IBAMA to ensure that a comprehensive and impartial evaluation of the project takes place, taking into account the cumulative impacts alongside the Belo Monte dam. The Xingu River cannot handle another more destructive development. The international community’s support is crucial in this ongoing struggle. The Amazon plays a vital role in regulating global climate balance, affecting water cycles and temperatures beyond its borders. As we celebrate this milestone, we invite concerned citizens worldwide to join us in our continued efforts to protect this critical ecosystem and the Indigenous communities who call it home.”
Members of the Volta Grande of Xingu Alliance include Amazon Watch, Instituto Socioambiental – ISA, Movimento Xingu Vivo para Sempre, the Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples (APIB), Rede Xingu+, Comité pour les Droits Humains en Amérique Latine – CDHAL, Mining Watch Canada, Earthworks, Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense – AIDA Americas, International Rivers, Law and Development Research Group and Institute of Development Policy of the University of Antwerp, Department of Work, Employment & Organisation of the University of Strathclyde, and Salva La Selva.
