Illegally Mined Gold Represented 17% of Brazil's Total Gold Exports

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest study by Instituto Escolhas indicates that Brazil exported 19 tonnes of illegally mined gold during the previous year. This accounted for 17% of the total gold exports by the country.

The exports of illegal gold, which lacked proper registration or necessary permit, were mainly from Southeastern states, such as Minas Gerais and São Paulo, the report noted. Incidentally, the state of Sao Paulo lacks mining permits or registered production, the report said.

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In 2020, the country exported around 111 tonnes of gold, valued at $4.9 billion. The major export destinations of Brazilian gold were Canada, Switzerland, Poland, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Italy, and India. As per official records, the country’s gold production totalled only 91.95tons of gold. This shows that the remaining 18.64 tonnes of the yellow metal were not accounted for in ant production record.

The report urged that importing countries should demand Brazil to implement proper system to control these imports. It noted that the Amazon has more than 4,470 illegal mining sites, with Brazil accounting for more than 50% of them. The illegal gold and diamond mining activities has been a major threat to the Yanomami- the largest indigenous community in South America.

The report emphasizes the urgent need to adopt a traceability system for gold.