Special Operations Battalion of Marines, together with the Federal Police and IBAMA, seizes and destroys material from two mines
Two active mines, operating inside the Yanomami Indigenous Territory, were dismantled during Operation “Ágata Fronteira Norte”, between June 21 and 25. One of the mines is located 330 km from Boa Vista (RR), occupies an area of 14 km² and has a 500 meter long airstrip. The second, of slightly smaller proportions, is 200 km southwest of the capital of Roraima, covers 0.5 km², and has a 300-m runway.
This work was carried out by the Brazilian Navy’s Special Operations troops, composed of soldiers from the Amphibious Commands and Combat Divers, with the use of aircraft from the Brazilian Air Force and agents from the Federal Police and the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama).
In both locations, where illegal mining was taking place, weapons, ammunition and cell phones were seized, in addition to materials extracted from the mines, such as cassiterite. Engines, pumps, vehicles, fuels, camp tents, power generators, and other equipment used for logistical support to the miners were destroyed on site. The damage to the illegal miners may reach more than R$ 200 thousand.
At the same time, another mobilization, composed of military personnel from the Battalion of Riverine Operations, from the Fluvial Patrol Ship “Raposo Tavares”, and agents from the Federal Police and Ibama, conducted an expedition on the Catrimani river in search of mining vessels and dredges. With the support of four MB vessels, three dredges were found, one of them hidden in the forest on the riverbank, which were then destroyed by Ibama.
The Catrimani river, which has its mouth in the Branco river, one of the tributaries of the Negro river, is more than 600 km long, and is characterized by the presence of stones and rapids in its bed, which requires great skill in navigation.
More seizures are expected
More repressive actions are expected as a result of the expansion of actions, which were given by decree 11.575, of June 21, 2023, to combat illegal mining in the Yanomami Indigenous Land.
As the operation will continue for the next few days, the integrated action between the military of the Armed Forces, the Federal Police, Ibama and various government agencies, such as FUNAI and SESAI, generates expectations of disarticulating the illegal mining apparatus, thus curbing the negative consequences that the extraction of minerals, in an uncontrolled and illegal manner, has brought to the environment and to the indigenous peoples of the region.
