Bogotá: Brazil's Supreme Court has suspended an environmental permit for a major gold mining project in the Amazon rainforest, dealing a setback to a Canadian company's plans to develop an open-pit mine along a river already affected by one of the country's largest hydroelectric dams.
The decision by Supreme Court Chief Justice Edson Fachin, issued on Monday and made public on Tuesday, suspends the installation licence for Belo Sun Mining Corp.'s proposed Volta Grande project in Para state. The project has faced years of opposition from Indigenous communities concerned about its environmental impact.
Fachin found that the company had not demonstrated full compliance with environmental requirements and protections for Indigenous communities, including completing studies assessing the project's impacts and consulting with them.
The proposed mine would be developed along the Xingu River, a major Amazon tributary, in an area already transformed by the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam. The dam has significantly altered the river's natural flow, affecting fish populations and communities that depend on the waterway.
Environmental groups warn that a large-scale gold mine could intensify the existing damage to ecosystems and further threaten Indigenous livelihoods.
Sol Juruna, a member of the Middle Xingu Indigenous Women's Movement, told The Associated Press that communities downstream of the Belo Monte dam were already struggling with reduced river flows and declining fish populations. She fears a proposed mining waste dam near the Xingu River could pose an additional threat to their livelihoods.
"We know that even the slightest contamination of the river would destroy everything for us," she said.
According to a 2015 feasibility study, Belo Sun planned to extract 3.52 million ounces of gold over 17 years, excavating more than 600 million tonnes of material across a 24-square-kilometre site.
A 2021 independent assessment raised concerns about a proposed dam intended to hold around 35 million cubic metres of mining waste and water near the Xingu River. Researchers warned that a failure could release waste containing toxic substances, including arsenic and mercury, potentially affecting Indigenous communities more than 40 kilometres downstream.
The ruling marks another development in a years-long legal battle over the project, which Belo Sun has promoted as one of Brazil's largest potential gold mines.
The company regained its installation licence through a lower court decision in February and subsequently told investors that the permit would remain valid until 2029.
However, Brazil's Indigenous affairs agency, FUNAI, has identified gaps in studies assessing the mine's effects on Indigenous communities, including those living outside formally demarcated territories. The agency has also raised questions about whether the combined impacts of the proposed mine and the Belo Monte dam were adequately considered.
"FUNAI has maintained that protections must cover all affected Indigenous communities, including those outside formally demarcated territories," said Ana Alfinito, Brazil legal adviser at Amazon Watch, an environmental and Indigenous rights organisation.
The Juruna and Arara Indigenous communities have previously said they were not properly consulted about the project, a claim Belo Sun disputes. Indigenous peoples have consultation rights under Brazilian law and International Labour Organisation Convention 169.
The Associated Press contacted Belo Sun for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.
The Alliance for the Volta Grande do Xingu, a coalition opposing the mine, welcomed the ruling. However, the suspension remains provisional pending further legal proceedings, which could include an agreement under consideration by a federal court.
For Juruna and other Indigenous women campaigning against the mine, the decision brought relief but did not end their fight.
"It was happy news for us, even though we all know the fight is not over," she said. "We will keep fighting, keep pushing to get Belo Sun out of the Volta Grande do Xingu. We want them gone."