Interest in mining in the region already started in the 1940s, but the isolation of the area has prevented extractions for a long time. While previous road construction projects were never finalized, the construction of the BR-174 highway – which connected Manaus to Boa Vista – were pushed forward in 1967 as part of a wider economic development strategy of the Brazilian military government (the Plano de Integração Nacional). This caused violence against the indigenous Waimiri Atroari group (self-denomination: Kinja), who became almost extinguished within one decade. Also works on the Balbina dam started and in the following flooded a vast area of rainforest (see two related case entries in the EJAtlas). During the construction works large cassiterite deposits were found in the region and with the road inauguration in 1979, miners linked to the Paranapanema group started to invade the Pitinga area, which was located within the demarcated Waimiri Atroari indigenous territory. [2][6]

A presidential decree issued by the military government in 1981 (Decreto Lei 85.898/81) declared an area of about 10,345 km2 to be of public utility for expropriation. At the same time, Paranapanema started cartographic manipulations through vehement lobbying within FUNAI and the National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM) leading to a second presidential decree (Decreto Lei 86.630/81) that dissolved 526,800 ha of the indigenous territory to regularize mining explorations in the already invaded area. Honoring the then president and military leader João Figueiredo, the municipality of Presidente Figueiredo was created around the area that had just been approved for exploitation. Thus Paranapanema’s subsidiary Taboca S.A. started its export-oriented mining operations and maintained close ties to the local administration while it was claimed that no more indigenous population existed in the occupied area – a narrative that has been kept until today. In the following era, Paranapanema celebrated record yields and - due to strong lobbying and supposed corruption - held a de facto monopoly over the region which obliged garimpeiros (informal miners) to exclusively sell their production to the company. In 1985, Taboca started constructions of the Pitinga hydroelectric dam on the Pitinga river to cover the energy demands of the mining operations. The company also started to seek agreements with three indigenous leaders to obtain access to indigenous areas in exchange for payments and gifts, leading to a new demarcation of the Waimiri Atroari territory in 1987. [2][3][6][7][8]

Since the start of its operations, Taboca was frequently accused of impacting indigenous livelihoods, in particular, because of the pollution of the Alalaú river, and for its neglecting of all responsibility ever since then. Since the 1980s, indigenous organizations like CIMI and COAIB as well as the Waimiri Atroari Resistance Support Movement (MAREWA) pointed to the company’s pollution of the Igarapé Tiaraju, a tributary of the Alalaú. Between 1987 and 1992 the situation aggravated as dam collapses led to the release of cassiterite tailings in the region, immediately affecting 600 people (150 of them indigenous). [3][8] Critics argued that Taboca has been systematically downplaying the caused environmental damages and been preventing public control in the area. Reports in the 1990s gave an account of the de facto self-monitoring of the company, also leading to uncertainty of the actual amount of mined material and an assumingly high loss of taxes. Moreover, Taboca was accused to have buried five thousand of radioactive waste in the Pitinga river area since the mid-eighties, directly affecting residents of the indigenous territory and the Presidente Figueiredo municipality. Taboca confirmed the presence of radioactive waste, stemming from the residues of iron, niobium, and tantalum extraction. However, despite symptoms such as loss of teeth, respiratory diseases, loss of hair, and leukemia, public authorities did not take action, and residents were not informed. [6][8][9] The Pitinga mining area is also emblematic for the presence of endemic diseases such as leishmaniasis. [10]

The Waimiri Atroari have repeatedly demanded compensations from the Paranapanema group, pointing to the loss of territory caused by the invasions in the 1970s but also by the damages to their livelihood, ongoing water pollution, and deforestation through the mining operations. Particularly controversial was an access road built illegally in 1982 through indigenous territory, connecting the mine to the BR-174 highway. In the 1990s, Paranapanema was obliged to compensate the Kinja community for the access road, but the indigenous group remained unsatisfied. After failed negotiations with new company owners over higher payments, the Kinja started a series of protests in 1996 to claim higher compensations. This, in the eyes of the community also signified a struggle for their territorial rights, the irregularly taken area of more than 500,000 hectares. Blocking the access road and sieging a security post of the Pitinga mine, a group of 110 armed Kinja claimed: “Who does not pay, will not pass” and demanded a tax for each passing vehicle for their indigenous foundation. First proposals by the company were rejected and road blockades continued for one month until Paranapanema, whose shares started to fell, agreed to triple compensation payments – however still less than the demanded 0.5% of the monthly value generated by the mine. The company then considered building a new road outside of the territory in question but the plan was later rejected by Brazil’s environmental agency IBAMA on the grounds of ecological concerns and the possibility of isolated indigenous tribes in the affected area. The mine access was again blocked by Kinja members in October 2004. [2] [3][11][12]

In the early 2000s, production levels fell and the Pitinga mine showed signs of depletion. Until 2006 tin ore was extracted exclusively from alluvial deposits which however became more and more exhausted, putting the mine’s future at risk. In 2004, Paranapanema received financing of 55 million USD from the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) to continue explorations and initiate a transition to primary rock extraction. Since 2009 this was pursued by the new owner Minsur which – after a series of investments aimed at increasing productivity of primary rock extraction – managed to further access the subsoil. In the following years, tin, niobium, and tantalum ferroalloy production levels have increased significantly, and the company also considered exploiting uranium reserves. However, as of 2011, only 0,4 % of the yields were used to mitigate the impacts on the Waimiri Atroari community and local livelihoods. [1][5][7][13][14]

Recently, the Pitinga hydroelectric and mining complex has caused new controversies concerning the stability of its dams. In November 2015, just shortly after the tragic dam collapse in Mariana (Minas Gerais), published videos showed leaks and outrunning water in Pitinga’s hydroelectric dam. The DNPM informed that eight tailings dams and the hydroelectric dam in Pitinga were considered as potentially insecure, demanding closer inspection and an action plan to be presented by Taboca. As it was feared, a possible collapse of the dam could lead to the release of retained tailings and sediments, with potentially devastating effects on the local flora and fauna. [15][16] However, Taboca issued new technical reports to prove the stability and declared the dams as save, while a local politician accused the company of having disregarded minimum work security standards, pointing to a previous death of a worker in August 2015. The worker was transporting rocks to a site where a dam leak was about to be contained and repaired. Three accidents had already happened before under similar circumstances. Locals also reported about missing supervision on-site and that despite the risk of accident and collapse, trucks still have to pass over a leaking wall complex. [15]

Since the 2015 incidents, researchers and activists have been criticizing the widespread disinformation when it comes to environmental licenses. In fact, technical reports and monitoring remain largely in control of the operators themselves. Researchers are not allowed to carry out measurements in Pitinga, while authorities like the Instituto de Proteção Ambiental do Amazonas (Ipaam) have for a long time failed to assess the data provided by Taboca, holding the actual state of the tailings dams in suspense. Countrywide public pressure only increased after Brazil’s second recent major dam collapse in Brumadinho in January 2019, pressuring Ipaam to conduct a four-day visit. Already before, local researchers and the environmental commission of the Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil - Amazonas (OAB-AM) demanded better monitoring, pointing to the risks in Pitinga, which according to a 2018 study were considered even higher than in Brumadinho. [17] [18] [19]

In April 2019, Taboca and the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) came to an agreement over compensation payments of 7.9 million Reais to mitigate past environmental damages and deforestation caused by mineral extraction in Pitinga. This should include educational activities as well as measures for better monitoring to prevent environmental crimes in the area. [20]

Minsur estimated in 2018 that the mine will run for 32 more years. [23] The concessions cover an area of 130,000 hectares, but the mined area currently encompasses about 17,000 hectares. [24][25]