Global demand for manganese puts Kayapó Indigenous land under pressure

Amazônia Minada project finds unusual rise in demand for manganese in 2020, when it became the second most requested on indigenous lands – just after gold. Some of the richest manganese deposits in the world are in southeast Pará, overlapping with the territories of the Kayapó, the most affected by recent records in mining requests. Illegal mining has increased and Indigenous people denounce mining on their territories.

Brazil’s isolated tribes in the crosshairs of miners targeting Indigenous lands

Mined Amazon has revealed 1,265 pending requests to mine in 26 Indigenous territories in Brazil that are home to isolated tribes. In 2020, half of the requests filed with the ANM were on lands with isolated tribes. Indigenous groups have filed a lawsuit with Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court against the government, and avert a “real risk of genocide” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.