Conservation and Biodiversity
Mining, Mismanagement, and Magic Tricks
November 14, 2025
Our favorite group of illusionists is reuniting for a diamond heist movie, but bunnies in hats and precious jewels aren’t the only things disappearing.
Delegates are currently gathering in Belém, Brazil, for COP30, the 30th annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It is estimated that Brazil hosts 15-20% of the world’s biodiversity, making it the most biodiverse country in the world, largely because the nation is home to a vast quantity of endemic species; species that only live in defined geographical regions.
Unfortunately, the environments that make Brazil, the world’s biodiversity hotspot, is rapidly disappearing, and it’s not because of magic… it’s because of mining.
Over the past 300 years, Brazil’s mining industry has evolved from a volatile, boom-and-bust gold rush economy to a global powerhouse in minerals, including iron ore, bauxite, nickel, rare earth minerals and diamonds. In 2023, Brazilian mineral exports reached a staggering $42.98 billion, and output continues to climb. Unfortunately, government regulation has lagged behind, failing to keep up with the industry’s explosive growth and its negative environmental impact.
Although existing legislation encourages some degree of formalization of some mining activities, through mining permits, worker cooperatives, and new monitoring mechanisms (including the use of satellite data), “garimpo” mines which are small, artisanal, and often occur on land where mining is illegal, remain unregulated.
As the Brazilian mining industry expands its global reach (mining exploration investments in Brazil increased by 51.6% from 2019 to 2024), persistent underregulation casts a long shadow, posing severe threats to Brazil’s forests, the nation’s biodiversity, its waterways, and the indigenous communities who call the land home.
A Vanishing Act: Brazilian Forests
Even as the world celebrates an 11-year deforestation low in Brazil, the impact mining has on forests is undeniable. In 2015, a comprehensive study attributed 9% of total deforestation between 2005 and 2015 in the Brazilian Amazon to activities associated with mining.
Mining is a particular menace for the Amazon because it causes direct deforestation, the complete clearing of vegetation for open-pit mines (like those for iron-ore and bauxite), and indirect deforestation which refers to the clearing of forests for mining associated activities, like building extensive networks of access roads.
This double burden means more trees get cut down, more habitats get destroyed, and more species are lost. A search of the IUCN Redlist for species in Brazil reveals that 1,810 species in the country are currently classified as “endangered” or “critically endangered,” and habitat loss is a key factor.
On top of these threats, illegal garimpo mining has been pervasive in Brazil. A 2024 study exploring garimpo mining operations found that 91% of the garimpo mining operations studied from 1985 to 2022 occurred on protected land in the Amazon rainforest.
Smoke, Mirrors, and Poisoned Rivers
Brazil’s intricate river systems allow contamination to travel far beyond the mining site. The process of gold extraction, uses mercury to create mercury-gold amalgam which can have far reaching impacts.
Mercury waste products seep or get dumped into rivers, where they contaminate aquatic environments. This toxin can bioaccumulate, or build up over time in different levels of the food chain, leading to dangerous mercury levels in fish, which are a staple protein for rural villages. Research is ongoing, but some river communities are noticing an increase in birth defects and neurological disorders that could be related to mercury consumption.
Even large river systems like the Madeira and Tapajós rivers have seen contamination, with river studies from 1992 to 2022 showing the persistent presence of mercury in aquatic ecosystems. Additionally, illegal garimpo mining can result in mining by-products, or tailings, getting dumped directly into streams and tributaries, causing severe pollution and sometimes visibly altering the color and life within the waterways, something the world witnessed in 2015, when a dam break allowed disgustingly yellow sludge from the Doce River to reach the Atlantic Ocean.
Cut in Half: Invasion of Indigenous Land
The 1988 Brazilian Constitution restricts illegal mining on Indigenous lands, but high demand for minerals has driven miners to Indigenous lands anyway. In 2022, garimpo mining extraction areas covered 2630 km^2, 12 times larger than the area in 1985. On these lands, lack of regulation isn’t the problem; in 2022, at least 15% (390 km^2) of garimpo mining occurred in regions that ALREADY restrict mining activity, including indigenous lands.
Beyond the loss of land, mining on and near indigenous communities has been attributed to a host of health issues, including malnutrition and food insecurity as hunting and planting areas are contaminated. In 2023, the condition of the Yanomami people of the Amazon, who have been greatly impacted by mining, was described as a humanitarian crisis and “genocidal neglect.” The Brazilian government has made significant strides since then, expanding health services and discouraging mining in the area, but a long road remains ahead.
Poof! Catastrophe
In 2019, the world watched in horror as scenes from Brumadinho Dam collapse in Minas Gerais, Brazil gained international coverage. The dam was used to store the sludge-like by-product of a nearby iron ore mine. During its collapse, that sludge spread to the Doce River and the Atlantic Ocean, contaminating aquatic environments and ecosystems and killing wildlife. An estimated 270 people died.
The collapse sparked a national and international outcry for justice, stricter mining regulations, and greater corporate accountability. Vale, the corporate owner of the dam, agreed to pay around $7 billion in restitution to communities and families affected by the dam collapse. The company also announced its intent to decommission its other tailings dams in the country, a strong step in the right direction for industrial mining in Brazil.
Beyond the “Magic” Trick
The great illusion of unchecked mining is costing us one of the planet’s most vital ecosystems. While the delegates at COP30 debate policy in Belém, the Amazon rainforest — the ground beneath their feet — is being sacrificed for gold, diamonds and rare earth minerals.
The loss of trees, the poisoning of the Tapajós and Madeira rivers, and the threat to Indigenous ways of life are not a clever magician’s trick; they are a direct and documented consequence of unregulated mining.
Just as illusionists need an audience to complete their act, the fight for the Amazon needs your voice. Don’t let the Brazilian rainforest and its people disappear in this “vanishing act” of corporate and regulatory neglect. Support EARTHDAY.ORG’s Canopy Tree Project to preserve the world’s forests.
If you want to learn more about why forests matter – please watch our brand new series UNDERREPORTED EARTH – “TREE TALES”– IG TRAIL.
Tracy McVeigh from The Guardian speaks with three top investigative journalists about their groundbreaking reporting: Elisangela Mendonça uncovers how the Amazon rainforest is being threatened by the collagen industry. Josephine Moulds takes us into the Congo Basin, where fossil fuel auctions are endangering one of the world’s most vital forest ecosystems. Ana Bottallo travels deep into the Amazonian mangroves to witness how local communities fought — to have their voices heard.
The episodes go live Novermber 17/18th/19th across EARTHDAY.ORG social media on Facebook: Ep.1, Ep.2, Ep.3 and YouTube: Ep.1, Ep.2, Ep.3.
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