Bahia is one of Brazil’s states with the greatest number and diversity of traditional and indigenous communities, including a significant quilombola population – afro-brazilian communities descended from escaped slaves. These people are frequently involved in land disputes, struggles for rights recognition, and conflicts over natural resources.
One of the hotbeds of these disputes is the central-northern region of Bahia state, where such communities attempt to resist the uncontrolled advance of mining. Major issues include river silting and pollution, drying up of springs, deforestation, and threats of displacement.
The extraction targets include ornamental stones, limestone, gold, iron, quartzite, and copper – the two latter in high demand due to the global energy transition. The environmental footprint is striking: craters have spread north of the Espinhaço Range, Brazil’s largest mountain chain.
Municipalities such as Andorinha, Campo Formoso, Curaçá, Juazeiro, Uauá, Jacobina, and Senhor do Bonfim are among the hardest hit, according to the volunteer-led movement Salve as Serras (“Save the Mountains”).
“This place is turning into a land full of holes”, summarizes a source linked to a local municipal government who requested anonymity to avoid retaliation.
Driven by Brazilian and international companies, the mining boom jeopardizes the future of communities known as fundo and fecho de pasto – collective land-use groups nearly exclusive to Bahia – who rely on communal territories to raise livestock, cultivate food and medicinal plants.
According to Antônio Célio de Castro, a representative of the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT, acronym in Portuguese), the area has become a stage for land invasions and intimidation of residents, many of whom are unaware of their rights and the broader impacts of mining.
He says that explosions and excavations disturb and deprive residents of sleep, dry up springs, pollute water used for agriculture and by small-scale farmers, cause respiratory illnesses, and force people to abandon rural life for the cities. “Soon there’ll be no one left in the communities”, he laments.
Mining activities have even been authorized near a river and a waterfall used by residents and tourists near the village of Betes. There, according to Salve as Serras, locals produce the alfenim, a traditional candy made of cane sugar and water, molded into shapes of animals, flowers, and people.
According to a community leader who chose not to be named for safety reasons, the degradation of springs and rivers could cut off water access for many towns. “The environmental and social destruction is worsening while public authorities do nothing”, said the source.
“Everything is wrecked and destroyed by the mining companies. People look the other way when money is involved”, the person added.
The scenario is echoed by councilman José Rodrigues dos Santos Neto (PCdoB), the most voted official in last elections in Antônio Gonçalves municipality. He warns that unregulated mining harms the springs feeding the Itapicuru River, which flows through 51 cities before reaching the ocean. “The damage will be statewide”, he warns.
Overridden rejection
One of the most active mining hubs in central-northern Bahia is Jaguarari municipality. A large portion of its population depends on the industry, which stifles complaints about environmental and social harm. Just one company in the area employs over 3,200 people directly or indirectly.
“City hall and councilors only support the mining companies”, says the regional source who asked not to be identified. “Traditional communities are neither consulted nor protected. It’s frightening”.
These threats are linked to the fragility of licensing procedures. Be aware of this, the State Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP/BA) is currently monitoring the implementation of a Conduct Adjustment Agreement (TAC, acronym in Portuguese) to improve licensing processes in Jaguarari.
However, in June, the same MP/BA reported signs of non-compliance by the municipality and set a deadline – by July 11 – to make adjustments, including structuring the local environmental agency and ensuring effective performance from the Municipal Environmental Council.
These actions stem from a completed civil lawsuit in which the Prosecutor’s Office accused the Mineração Jaguarari and the municipality of authorizing mining without proper licensing or environmental recovery plans.
The company claims to be unaware of any licenses with legal issues and says all required documents, plans, and fees were submitted to the environmental body. It states that degraded areas will be restored after extraction ends, “according to the established criteria and responsibilities”.
Mineração Jaguarari also says it complies with environmental and sustainability controls, emphasizing that its operations are “heavily regulated and monitored” and that natural rock mining “can be considered low to medium impact and should not be equated with large-scale mining operations”.
Jaguarari City Hall did not respond to our interview requests before publication. The communication channel remains open.
Nonetheless, during the enforcement period of the agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office, civil organizations and activists reported that at least one quartzite mining license was issued – for another company – even after the Municipal Environmental Council had denied approval.
Such episodes led councilman Santos Neto to argue that there is alignment between mining companies – seeking maximum resource extraction – and municipalities eager to boost tax revenue and campaign financing.
“We’re facing a regional scenario of inadequate oversight, with mining licenses granted by the same authorities who turn a blind eye to the damage caused to people and the environment. The activity could be much better controlled”, he notes.
Another case under investigation involves illegal green quartz extraction for China, committed by locals and foreigners on a farm in Jaguarari. “The investigation continues to identify the main buyers and possible funders of the illicit activity”, says the Federal Police in Bahia.
“Often, gold found alongside quartzite is separated using mercury, increasing the risk of contamination of the environment and rivers”, warns councilman Santos Neto. The mercury can cause a variety of illnesses, including severe neurological disorders.
Bahia is one of the leading mineral producers in Brazil, along with Minas Gerais and Pará states. According to the Bahian Mineral Research Company, at least 240 municipalities – 58% of the state – have already been targeted by mining projects.
In 2023, Bahia’s commercialized mineral production generated US$ 1.8 billion in revenue. In addition to domestic consumption, these products are exported to countries like the USA, China, Canada, Italy, South Korea, Finland, Switzerland, and the UAE, according to state government data.
Despite the large profits, councilman Santos Neto from Antônio Gonçalves states that local communities see little benefit. “We don’t even have decent roads”, he says. “Once the mining cycle ends, all that’ll be left is destruction”.
Major shock
Decades of deep, extensive mining – with some underground galleries stretching nearly 150 km – may be shaking the ground in Bahia’s semi-arid Caatinga biome. In mid-2023, a 3.6-magnitude earthquake struck a district in Jaguarari, near a copper mine. It was the strongest ever recorded in the state.
The incident, along with a spike in seismic activity – tremors have become almost daily in recent years, says Salve as Serras – prompted the Brazilian Geological Society and the Federal and State Universities of Bahia to call for the suspension of mining in more sensitive areas.
“Excavations (…) may further weaken the terrain, and seismic occurrences are common, increasing the likelihood of such accidents”, notes a joint technical report from the institutions.
This adds to growing threats faced by workers and residents in a region with naturally fragile soils. Furthermore, Jaguarari is home to Latin America’s largest dry tailings dam.
Stalled Protections
Mining advances despite much of central-northern Bahia being designated by the federal government as a high-priority area for biodiversity conservation, and being part of the Caatinga Biosphere Reserve, recognized by the United Nations in 2001.
In an attempt to change this scenario and promote alternatives to mining and livestock, civil society organizations, traditional communities, and residents are working to establish an ecotourism trail through five regional municipalities.
The planned route for hiking and cycling, however, faces resistance from ranchers and companies in the mining and wind energy sectors.
Similar barriers were raised against the proposed creation of an Environmental Protection Area (APA, acronym in Portuguese) – the least restrictive category of Brazilian protected areas to human actions. This would be Jaguarari’s first ecological reserve, covering around 6,700 hectares.
Besides organizing human land use, the reserve would protect dozens of watersprings – which feed regional rivers – natural landscapes, animal species, and plant life. Without it, rural and traditional populations, as well as Caatinga biodiversity, will suffer further harm.
The APA could also help halt deforestation in this mining hotspot. According to MapBiomas – a collaborative platform monitoring changes in land use -, natural vegetation cover in Jaguarari has declined significantly since 2015, largely replaced by cattle pastures.
the springs and community territories is to protect the lives of the people”, summarizes Antônio Célio de Castro from the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT). “The conservation unit would protect forests and water, but they don’t respect that”.
This story was originally published in Portuguese. The translation was done with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence, with final review by the reporter Aldem Bourscheit.
