Indigenous rights, not mining rights
The Amazon rainforest sits atop vast reserves of critical minerals – from copper to rare earth elements – drawing intense interest from the global mining industry. Yet, mining is a deadly threat to the forest and its Indigenous peoples, contaminating water sources, driving deforestation, and fueling human rights abuses. This crisis is escalating, driven by the global transition to “green” energy technologies and soaring gold prices.
Amazon Watch stands with Indigenous peoples calling for the Amazon to be a no-go zone for mining. We combine grassroots support for Indigenous resistance with high-level advocacy targeting corporate, financial, and political actors around the world. These efforts aim to break the grip of extractivism that endangers the Amazon and build a future grounded in Indigenous rights and climate justice.
Campaign goals
- Large-scale mining projects and illegal gold mining are halted on Indigenous territories
- Investors and banks are pressured to stop funding destructive mining projects
- Companies and governments are held accountable for human rights abuses and environmental harm
Recent highlights
- Challenging Belo Sun’s mega-mine in Brazil: With local communities, working to halt Canadian company Belo Sun’s plans to build one of Brazil’s largest open-pit gold mines in the Volta Grande do Xingu, a region already devastated by the Belo Monte dam and critical to both biodiversity and Indigenous survival.
- Stopping open-pit mining in Mocoa, Colombia: Supporting Indigenous and urban communities in Putumayo working to halt plans for open-pit copper mining in the upper Mocoa River basin, which threaten to destabilize a vulnerable ecosystem that includes protected forest reserve land and overlaps multiple Indigenous territories.
- Confronting Solaris Resources in Ecuador: Working alongside Indigenous Shuar Arutam communities to challenge Canadian mining company Solaris Resources, whose operations threaten ancestral territories and fragile ecosystems in the Cordillera del Cóndor region, while pressuring financiers to divest and respect Indigenous opposition.
Latest campaign news and updates
Major Indigenous Protest in Brazil Targets Belo Sun Gold Mine Project
Thousands of Indigenous people marched in Brazil’s capital yesterday, during the second day of the 2026 Free Land Camp (ATL), the country’s largest Indigenous mobilization, to denounce land rights violations driven by large-scale mining, agribusiness, and logging projects.
Middle Xingu Indigenous Women Mark One Month of Mobilization Against Belo Sun’s Advance in the Amazon
One month into their occupation of the Altamira headquarters of Brazil’s National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI), Indigenous women from the Middle Xingu region led a peaceful action.
Indigenous Women Occupy Federal Agency to Demand Suspension of Belo Sun Mining’s License
More than 140 Indigenous people have occupied the Brazilian federal Indigenous agency FUNAI’s regional office to demand the suspension of Belo Sun’s mining license for its “Volta Grande” gold mine on the banks of the Xingu River.
Brazil Court Revives Belo Sun’s Controversial Amazon Gold Mine
“We are already suffering the impacts of the Belo Monte dam.. If another project of this scale comes, the Volta Grande will not withstand it.”
Indigenous Peoples Maintain Indefinite Blockade of Cargill on the Tapajós River
Today the Indigenous occupation at Cargill’s grain terminal in Santarém entered its 20th day, deepening the movement’s standoff with the Lula administration over plans to dredge the Tapajós and privatize Amazonian rivers.
Indigenous Peoples Block Access to Santarém Airport in Protest of Tapajós River Dredging
Indigenous Peoples from the Tapajós region blocked the main access road to Santarém International Airport today, escalating a mobilization ongoing since January 22.
Indigenous Protest Enters Second Week as Brazil Faces Pressure Over Amazon Waterway Decree
Munduruku leaders join growing Indigenous blockade against Amazon River dredging and privatization
On the 13th day blockading Cargill’s grain terminal in Santarém, Indigenous protestors are demanding in-person dialogue with Brazil's federal government, following its failure to send representatives to a meeting last week.
Amazonian Indigenous Blockade of Key Cargill Terminal Reaches One Week
For the past week, Indigenous peoples representing 14 ethnicities from the Lower and Middle Tapajós River region have blockaded facilities operated by agribusiness multinational Cargill in Santarém, protesting industrial interventions designed to accelerate agro-commodity exports.
What Brazil’s New Legal Landscape Means for the Amazon and Its Peoples
Despite clear warnings from research institutions, Brazil is moving closer to licensing a mega-project based on incomplete and flawed environmental studies.
