TIN EXTRACTED by a Brazilian mining firm next to an Indigenous territory in the Amazon rainforest has reached the supply chains of Tesla—run by billionaire Elon Musk—and Toyota in the United States. Mineração Taboca, now controlled by a Chinese state-owned group, is under investigation by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office in Brazil for possible pollution of a river in the Waimiri Atroari Indigenous Land in Amazonas state.
A stream feeding the Alalaú River—the primary waterway in the territory—has reportedly been contaminated with lead, arsenic, and other hazardous substances, according to a chemical analysis sent by the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai) to prosecutors in Amazonas.
The water and sediment analysis prompted prosecutors to resume an investigation—ongoing for five years—into possible links between mining operations and pollution in the territory.
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“There was contamination, that’s undeniable. I need to investigate whether there is a causal link between the company’s activity and these events,” says André Porreca Ferreira Cunha, an MPF-AM prosecutor.
In a statement to Repórter Brasil, Taboca said there is “no evidence to indicate a causal link” between the contamination and the company’s operations. Taboca also questioned the methodology behind the chemical analysis report, describing “gaps that compromise the reproducibility of the information, as well as technical inconsistencies, which require further examination before a definitive conclusion can be reached.” See details below and the full statement here.
Company also approved as supplier to major tech companies
Taboca, Brazil’s largest producer of refined tin, has operated the Pitinga Mine since 1982. This mine, one of the largest in the Amazon, borders the Indigenous territory.
The Waimiri Atroari territory was identified in 1971 and then i