Agência Brasil – ABr – Absence of the State is the most common complaint among prospectors that operate in one of the largest gold-mining areas in Pará, Tapajós. This is one of the conclusions of a social study conducted by the Nucleus of Higher Amazon Studies (NEAM) of the Federal University of Amazonas, under the coordination of Professor Armin Mathis. The study was carried out during the past four months as part of a program to reduce the release of mercury in the mining area of Tapajós.
The report, presented at a seminar on the Global Mercury Program, informs that gold-mining, despite the foreign exchange it generates for the country, is viewed a a marginal activity, according to the prospectors complaints.
The program will be administered in Brazil and five other countries by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido). The institution that will take participate in the Brazilian phase, the Mineral Technology Center (Cetem), linked to the Ministry of Science and Technology, also won the international bidding to do the environmental diagnostic research in Indonesia (Asia) and Zimbabwe (Africa). (DAS)