Taboca / Mamoré (Minsur Group)

Mineração Taboca, the largest producer of refined tin in Brazil, has been operating in the state of Amazonas since the 1980s. In 2008, the miner became part of the portfolio of companies of the Peruvian group Minsur, as well as Mamoré Mineração e Metalurgia. Minsur is one of the leading tin producers in the world.

Taboca owns the Pitinga mine, whose operation affects the Waimiri Atroari people. During the military dictatorship in Brazil, the Waimiri Atroari were almost completely decimated, reduced from 3,000 to just over 300 people, in a crime of genocide unpunished to date.

Recently, a leakage at a tailings retention structure owned by Taboca reached rivers within the Waimiri Atroari Indigenous land—these water sources are essential for the life of the population. The contamination was identified by the Indigenous people and confirmed by the authorities who examined the scene. The detailed report of the field visits shows that the contamination has already altered the quality of the water in the Tiaraju and Alalaú rivers, where the Indigenous people fish and draw water for drinking, cleaning and preparing food. So far, 22 villages were affected. The case is being investigated by the Federal Prosecution Office and the Environmental Institute of Amazonas.

Despite denying its interest in mineral exploration in Indigenous lands, Taboca still holds a research application overlapping the Kayapó territory. Mamoré Mineração e Metalurgia, in turn, holds 34 active research applications in the ANM, overlapping the lands of the Waimiri Atroari. This goes to show that the interests of the Minsur group in the region are greater than those Taboca claims publicly.