Supreme Court Halts Amazon Gold Mine Permit

Brazil's Supreme Court has halted the environmental permit for a significant gold mining project in the Amazon rainforest. The decision, announced by Chief Justice Edson Fachin, suspends the installation license for Belo Sun Mining Corp.'s Volta Grande project in Para state.

The proposed mine is planned along the Xingu River, a key tributary of the Amazon, in an area already affected by the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam. Environmental groups have raised concerns about the potential ecological and social impacts of the project.

A 2015 feasibility study outlined Belo Sun's plan to extract 3.52 million ounces of gold over 17 years, involving the excavation of more than 600 million tons of material across a 24-square-kilometer site.