Study reveals the evolution of illegal mining and new exploitation tactics.

In the Munduruku indigenous territories in Pará, miners are replacing large machinery with smaller, less powerful equipment. This shift occurs after intensified efforts to remove invaders from Indigenous Lands (TIs) during President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The slowdown in activity and technical regression may seem like a decline in the sector, but in reality, it indicates a strategy to circumvent oversight and recover high earnings. This conclusion is part of the report "The Spatial Circuit of Illegal Mining After Removal," released today (11) by the State University of Pará (UEPA) in partnership with the Instituto Mãe Crioula. Along with the Yanomami and Kayapó, the Munduruku are the indigenous group most affected by mining in Brazil. The study also points out that the same financial system that maintains relationships with criminal factions, as revealed by operations like "Carbono Oculto," also supports the structures for mineral extraction. This financial support has also eliminated the distinction between artisanal mining and large-scale industrial mining. Recent operations by the Federal Police have exposed these schemes involving investment funds, money laundering, and criminal organizations. Labor The study also investigated the origin of the labor force working in the illegal mines in Pará, which is largely composed of people from Maranhão. This scenario consolidates a transformation in regional migration, which began in 1990. Workers move within the same region, alternating between agriculture and mining. The team analyzed the socio-spatial dynamics of some municipalities, such as Jacareacanga and Itaituba, where the Munduruku live. The ethnic group has been denouncing for years the violations of rights caused by the exploitation of the land by non-indigenous populations. Researchers emphasize that the economic networks that sustain the mining operations have expanded beyond gas stations, aircraft, and boats. Small businesses and local service providers guarantee the existence of the mines and depend on them, simultaneously. Researcher Fabiano Bringe, one of the authors of the study, defines this relationship as "miner-dependency." Many indigenous people turn to mining due to a lack of alternative sources of income and sustenance. This dynamic led to the creation of the Alagados neighborhood in Jacareacanga. The municipality is located on the banks of the Tapajós River and has such a strong presence of the Munduruku that the ethnic group's name is the most common surname in the city. Indigenous people represent 59.1% of the local population, according to the 2022 census of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). "There is a process of deterritorialization, as they move to nearby peripheries, forming impoverished neighborhoods like those commonly seen in large and medium-sized cities, with extremely poor sanitation conditions," Bringe points out. Young indigenous people also find the physical effort of agriculture unattractive. "The work in the mine is also arduous. However, the income obtained is much higher than in agriculture, fishing, or crafts," the researcher notes. The average salary of residents in the city reached 2.6 minimum wages in 2023, the year in which 2,442 people were employed with formal contracts. In 2010, almost half of the population (48.6%) survived on a monthly per capita income of up to half a minimum wage. Change The Amazon Foundation for Support to Studies and Research (Fapespa) reports that the total number of trucks almost tripled between 2014 and 2023 in the city, increasing from 25 to 69 vehicles. The number of pickup trucks and motorcycles also showed a significant increase. In addition, the municipal GDP jumped from R$ 177,489 to R$ 625,760 during the same period. The number of commercial establishments with employment relationships increased from 10 to 34 between 2010 and 2021, while the number of service establishments increased from 6 to 14. The federal government has carried out several removal operations to protect the Munduruku. The Federal Police launched Operation Munduruku Log in February 2025 and blocked R$ 24 million from the suspects. Previously, in December 2024, Operation Flygold II investigated a group that moved R$ 6 billion with the illegal trade of gold. The UEPA survey was made possible with the support of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and other bodies of the federal government and covers the period from 2017 to 2023.