Brazilian State Hosting COP30 Defends Controversial Gold Mining Regulations

The Brazilian state of Pará, set to host next year's COP30 global climate summit in the Amazon, is defending regulations that allegedly promote illegal gold mining, according to court documents viewed by Reuters.

Brazil's Green Party has contested these regulations, which permit municipal governments to authorize gold mining operations on plots up to 500 hectares. The party argues that these rules encourage wildcat mining, particularly in Pará, the state responsible for the bulk of the country's illegal gold production.

The lawsuit, which seeks to overturn Pará's mining laws, has garnered support from the federal government, including the environmental agency Ibama, the solicitor general, and Brazil's top public prosecutor.

A forensic report from the Federal Police, added to the case, revealed that illegal miners are using hazardous chemicals, such as mercury and cyanide, which are contaminating rivers essential to Indigenous populations. Mercury is commonly used to extract gold from ore, while cyanide is utilized in the leaching process.

The Pará government, which has enforced these regulations for over a decade, asserts that the rules were established long before Governor Helder Barbalho took office. In May, the administration told Reuters that it was considering revising the guidelines but currently opposes the lawsuit before the Supreme Court. Requests for comment from Reuters have so far gone unanswered.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has requested that COP30 be held in Pará's state capital, Belém, near the mouth of the Amazon River, to highlight his administration's efforts to combat deforestation in the rainforest, one of the planet's largest carbon sinks. Lula has also vowed to end illegal gold mining, much of which occurs on protected Indigenous lands.

According to the Federal Police report, water samples collected by inspectors revealed mercury contamination in the Tapajós River at levels exceeding acceptable limits. The affected areas are home to the Munduruku Indigenous people and other riverine communities.

(Reported by Ricardo Brito, written by Anthony Boadle; Edited by David Gregorio)