http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/11/brazil-gold-belosun-idUSL2N0H61UN20130911

Belo Sun Mining Corp, a Canadian company, plans to construct what will be Brazil’s largest gold mine along the Xingu river in the Amazon rainforest. As Belo Sun tries to obtain a permit to begin work on the open-pit project, Brazilian federal prosecutors are requesting the state government of Para to conduct a proper study of the environmental impact of the project before making a decision.

A few interesting points made in the article troubled me. There are two communites of indigenous people, the Arara and the Juruna, located near the Xingu river that will surely be affected by the gold mining operation, but the federal prosecutors point out a lack of sufficient studies that accurately estimate the consequences of the project. Belo Sun also seems to be very secretive about the gold mine, refusing to communicate with the federal prosecutors and withholding information about the actual size of the operation.

The massive project, which could actually become twice the size of Belo Sun’s original proposition to state officials, will have a profoundly negative impact on the environment and the native people of the Xingu River. The potential effect on the environment and the dishonest manner in which Belo Sun has tried to obtain the permit leads me to believe that the state government of Para should deny their request.