Nearly half of permitted small-scale gold mines in a corner of the Brazilian Amazon are likely fronts for laundering gold mined elsewhere, including protected areas and Indigenous territories, a new investigation suggests. Between 2022 and 2026, 263 of the 540 licensed artisanal mining operations in the Tapajós River Basin, or 49%, reported gold sales not commensurate with the actual mining activity. Satellite imagery analyzed by investigative outlet InfoAmazonia revealed that most of the mining activity in the Tapajós region was happening outside the permitted mining sites, including inside protected areas and Indigenous territories. Roughly 70% of activity was happening within a 10-kilometer (6-mile) radius of the permitted sites, which suggests illegal mining operations may be using the cover of these permits to launder illegal gold into the formal market. The findings are consistent with reports of mercury contamination in the region, which has harmed Indigenous and riverine communities who depend on the rivers for water, food and transportation. Mercury is common in both legal and illegal gold mining operations, despite a prohibition on its use. The investigation also found permits intended for small-scale, low-impact gold mining were being used by larger, industrial-scale operations. The mining permits were originally designed to be a simplified authorization for individual miners, but are increasingly used for industrial mining that uses heavy equipment, dredging and illegal mercury. For the investigation, InfoAmazonia helped develop a platform called VEIO, or Verification and Investigation of Gold Origin. It cross-references mining and deforestation data with mineral production taxes and…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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