The regional impacts of small-scale gold mining in Amazonia

Título The regional impacts of small-scale gold mining in Amazonia
Autores Oswaldo Bezerra
Adalberto Veríssimo
Christopher Uhl
Vinculação dos autores (a) Universidade de Campinas – São Paulo (SP), Brasil
(b) Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia (Imazon) – Belém (PA), Brasil
(c) Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Ano de publicação 1996
Meio de publicação Natural Resouces Forum (Volume 20, Issue 4, November 1996, Pages 305-317)
DOI (Digital Object Identifier) https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-8947.1996.tb00663.x

Abstract

Gold mining is the major economic activity in the Upper Tapajós River Basin of the Brazilian Amazon. This article studies the structure, economy and impacts of gold mining operations in this region. Mining has significant environmental impacts in this region resulting in the removal of approximately 67 million m3 of sub-soil per year and accompanied by an annual release of some 12 tons of mercury to air, ground and rivers. In the early 1990s there were 245 mines in operation, employing some 30000 people and producing around 35t gold per year, valued at approximately $400 million yr-1, the profits being about $110 million yr-1. Miners spent most of their earnings on local goods and services, while mine owners and merchants in the gold towns invested in land (mainly for ranching), business ventures and money markets. Wealth gained from mining has served as an engine for development in other regions of the world and could, theoretically, achieve the same for Amazonia. However, before this could happen, the Government of Brazil would need to mark a strong presence in the area by providing technical assistance and developing and enforcing mining/environmental regulations. The likelihood of such a development materializing in the foreseeable future is small. In the meantime, gold mining acts, not as an ‘engine for development’, but as a destabilizing force — provoking environmental damage, social discord and public health hazards in the region.

Download

This post was published on 1 de novembro de 1996

Notícias recentes

Sistema de Alerta de Desmatamento (SAD) – Novembro de 2024

Amorim, L., Santos, B., Ferreira, R., Ribeiro, J., Dias, M., Souza Jr., C., & Veríssimo,…

19 de dezembro de 2024

Sistema de Alerta de Desmatamento (SAD) – Outubro de 2024

Amorim, L., Santos, B., Ferreira, R., Ribeiro, J., Dias, M., Souza Jr., C., & Veríssimo,…

26 de novembro de 2024

Radar Verde Estados Unidos

Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia (Imazon), Instituto O Mundo Que Queremos e…

21 de novembro de 2024

Activity Report 2023

Letter from the Executive Board Hope. This was the feeling that overflowed through the veins…

18 de novembro de 2024

Radar Verde União Europeia

Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia (Imazon), Instituto O Mundo Que Queremos e…

14 de novembro de 2024

Secondary growth deforestation leakage in the Pará beef cattle purchasing zone

Junior, Luis Oliveira; Filho, Jailson S. de Souza; Ferreira, Bruno Gama; Souza Jr, Carlos. https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-3-2024/371/2024/.…

7 de novembro de 2024