The impacts of illegal mining on indigenous lands

The humanitarian crisis faced by the Yanomami has received widespread attention recently, thanks to the denunciations made by their leaders about the invasions and crimes committed by illegal mining in the region.

Although the Yanomami have been through crises before, especially with the intensification of contact with non-indigenous people and the first great wave of mining in the 1970s and 1980s, health professionals and indigenous leaders say that the situation has never been so serious.

The health crisis has already killed 570 children between 2019 and 2022, 29% more than in the previous four years. Many children and adults are already showing symptoms of mercury poisoning.

A study carried out by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in 2019 among the Yanomami indigenous population found mercury in 56% of women and children in the Maturacá region, located in the state of Amazonas. Sometimes the contamination passes from mother to child.

The transmission of diseases has been devastating for the indigenous population. Lack of access to adequate health care and malnutrition are directly linked to illegal mining, as the processing of ore using mercury contaminates the population and rivers, killing animals that are a source of food for the indigenous people, and the presence of miners increases the transmission of COVID-19 and other diseases.

According to the President of the Yanomami and Yek'wana Indigenous Health District Council, criminals have taken control of health centers and airstrips, preventing the arrival of health professionals who need to travel by plane to attend to the population scattered throughout the isolated villages in the forest.

Another recurring fact involves the exploitation of the Yanomami by criminal groups who bring weapons and engage in violent conflicts, resulting in a series of human rights violations, including forced labor, sexual abuse and even murder.

Brazil's indigenous peoples have several rights guaranteed by the 1988 constitution. Some of their rights are: the right to land, the right to be different, the right to health, the right to education, the right to equality, the right to due process and the right to protection. However, these rights have not been respected in recent years.

The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) went into action and took measures to control the airspace in the Yanomami Indigenous Land and remove the illegal miners from the territory, which led to a mobilization of the invaders.

Some miners are trying to flee to Venezuela or Guyana, and face high prices for clandestine helicopter flights. The Auaris region, close to the border, is one of the worst affected by the health crisis, including serious cases of malaria and malnutrition.

Mining on demarcated indigenous lands is, in principle, an illegal activity. It therefore has legal implications, because according to Brazilian Environmental Law, the illegal extraction of mineral resources is classified as a crime in Law No. 9605/98:

"Art. 55. Carrying out mining research or extraction of mineral resources without the competent authorization, permission, concession or license, or in disagreement with the one obtained, with a penalty of detention, from six months to one year, and a fine."

Irregular mining is also a crime of usurpation of public property, as set out in Article 2 of Law 8.176/91.

"Art. 2. It is a crime against property, in the form of usurpation, to produce goods or exploit raw materials belonging to the Union, without legal authorization or in disagreement with the obligations imposed by the authorizing title."

Illegal garimpos are often operated by highly organized criminal organizations, with coordination, hierarchy and a lot of investment. The garimpeiros who work in these activities receive only a small percentage of the value extracted, while the criminal organization receives most of the profit. Furthermore, illegal activities are not limited to illegal mining. Many of these organizations are also involved in other illegal activities, such as drug trafficking, illegal deforestation, slave labour and murder.