TIN PRODUCER White Solder acquired cassiterite from areas of the Brazilian Amazon where there is no evidence of mining activity. Between 2020 and 2025, the company reported in official documents the purchase of 2,300 metric tons of cassiterita from two locations in Campo Novo de Rondônia, in northern Rondônia state, where no signs of mining were found.
White Solder holds a central position in the global tin market: the group presents itself as one of the world’s largest tin manufacturers and ranks second in royalty payments from cassiterite extraction in the Brazilian Legal Amazon, according to data from the Brazil’s National Mining Agency.
Repórter Brasil visited the two areas identified by the company as the source of the cassiterite but found only cattle pasture and dozens of animals. The verification was conducted through an aerial survey carried out jointly with Greenpeace Brasil and through unpaved roads.
“The available evidence does not show spatial and temporal signs consistent with mineral production,” Greenpeace said. In addition to the field verification, the organization analyzed high-resolution satellite imagery, which was reviewed by Repórter Brasil. According to Greenpeace, the evidence suggests that the areas are “ghost mines.”
“Ghost mines” is the term used to describe mining sites that are authorized to operate and sell minerals but that, in practice, have no recorded production. Such sites can be used to conceal the true origin of minerals illegally extracted from areas without mining authorization, such as Indigenous territories.
Thousands of tons of cassiterite were reported as originating from areas where cattle pasture and livestock facilities were found in Campo Novo de Rondônia, in the Brazilian Amazon (Photo: Fernando Martinho/Repórter Brasil)
Cassiterite is the raw material used to produce tin, a metal considered strategic for the defense and technology industries because it acts as a kind of “glue” in the soldering of electronic components. White Solder purchases raw cassiterite and processes it at an industrial facility in Rondônia before exporting it.
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