Brazil Uses Forensic Technology to Trace Illegal Amazon Gold
BRASILIA, Dec 14 (Reuters) – Brazil is deploying cutting-edge forensic technology to track the origins of gold, cracking down on a surge in illegal mining in the Amazon rainforest. This initiative aims to combat environmental destruction and criminal networks that have flourished since environmental controls were weakened.
Pastor Harley Sandoval was arrested in July 2023 for illegally exporting 294 kilograms of gold, according to police. The gold was reportedly sourced from a legal mining prospect but, using forensic technology, authorities determined the gold actually came from illegal mines in neighboring Pará, some on protected Indigenous lands.
The Brazilian Federal Police’s “Targeting Gold” program is creating a database of gold samples using radio-isotope scans and fluorescence spectroscopy to identify unique elemental compositions. Humberto Freire, director of the Federal Police’s Environment and Amazon Department, explained that this allows scientists to read the “DNA of Brazilian gold.”
Nature has marked the gold with isotopes and we can read these unique fingerprints with radio-isotope scans,” Freire said. “With this tool we can trace illegal gold before it gets refined for export.”
This technology has been instrumental in increasing gold seizures, which rose by 38% in 2023 from the previous year. New regulations, including electronic tax receipts and stricter monitoring, have also contributed to the crackdown. Officials estimate that around 40% of the gold extracted in the Amazon is illegal.
The Rise of Illegal Mining
Weakened environmental controls during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro contributed to a new Amazon gold rush, fueled by record world gold prices. Satellite images show approximately 80,000 illegal mining sites in the rainforest, marking an unprecedented surge in activity.
Artisanal mining in Brazil has evolved into an industrial-scale operation, involving heavy machinery and criminal organizations that use helicopters and planes to transport people, equipment, and gold. These operations often contaminate the environment with mercury.
The invasion of the Yanomami territory by illegal miners last year caused violence, disease, and a humanitarian crisis, prompting a military response. While the military has since withdrawn, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has vowed to combat illegal gold mining, deploying environmental protection forces to Indigenous reservations.
International Interest in Gold Tracing
Other Amazonian countries and European governments have expressed interest in adopting the Brazilian gold analysis method, with Switzerland and Britain showing particular interest.
Geologist Maria Emilia Schutesky and her team at the National University of Brasilia’s geosciences lab conduct mass spectrometry scans to identify associated molecules that help determine the origins of the gold.
“We researchers seek a 100% ability to trace gold, but that is more than what the police needs to prove a crime, which is just to establish that the gold does not come from where a suspects claims it is from,” Schutesky said.
