Ibama dismantles final active mining sites in Kayapó IT after 75-day operation
17 de July de 2025
By Fernanda Ribeiro – From Cenarium
MANAUS (AM) – The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) announced on Monday, the 14th, that it had reached and disabled the last active mining sites in the Kayapó Indigenous Territory (IT), located in the state of Pará. The large-scale eviction operation lasted 75 days.
With aerial support, Ibama was able to reach and destroy the final illegal mining points within the Kayapó territory. The operation resulted in the dismantling of 117 illegal camps, 358 mining engines, 25 hydraulic excavators, 8 dredges, and 21,330 liters of diesel fuel. A total of 619 field operations were carried out.
Coordinated by the federal government’s Chief of Staff Office, the intervention involved seven other agencies: the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI), the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai), the Federal Police (PF), the National Public Security Force (FNSP), the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), the Management and Operations Center of the Amazon Protection System (Censipam), and the Brazilian Army (EB).
Frontlines of enforcement
On July 9, Ibama disclosed inspection actions responding to reports of illegal logging in the Xingu Indigenous Territory, in Mato Grosso, and illegal mining polluting a river near an Indigenous Territory in Pará.
In Xingu (MT), satellite images confirmed logging activities supplying sawmills in Alta Floresta (MT). The Ibama team disabled three tractors, a front loader, and two trucks used in the operation.
In Pará, a report led to confirmation of illegal mining activities near the Menkragnoti Indigenous Territory, which were polluting the Pixaxa River. The mining sites were using metallic mercury and cyanidation, a highly toxic technique. Authorities disabled one hydraulic excavator, one pickup truck, six stationary engines, and seized 1 kg of metallic mercury, a substance with high contaminating potential.
Recent operations
Throughout June and July, including the action in the Kayapó Indigenous Territory reported on Monday, Ibama carried out several crucial operations, most of which (at least seven of the nine published on its official website) took place within Indigenous lands.
These efforts included the destruction of airstrips, aircraft, and camps, as well as the closure of illegal mining routes in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory, through operations such as “Asphyxia” and other initiatives that dismantled new mining zones in southern Amazonas. Authorities also seized 620 kg of cassiterite extracted from the Yanomami IT and intensified the fight against illegal mining in the Sararé IT and the Kayabi IT, where 23 rafts were destroyed.
Additionally, a workshop focused on environmental restoration was held in the Yanomami IT, and Ibama received a substantial investment from the Amazon Fund to bolster enforcement across the entire Legal Amazon.
These ongoing interventions are vital to counter the vulnerability of Indigenous territories, which are frequent targets of environmental degradation and other illicit activities. Continuous monitoring by environmental agencies, combined with public participation through reporting, is essential to ensure the protection of these areas and the well-being of Indigenous peoples.