Mining project threatens Serra do Curral, landmark of Belo Horizonte (MG)

The state government of Minas Gerais has granted an environmental license to the mining company Taquaril Mineração S.A. (Tamisa) to build a mining complex in the Serra do Curral, a mountainous region located between the municipalities of Belo Horizonte, Nova Lima and Sabará. The project will occupy an area of 101.24 hectares, equivalent to 121 soccer fields.

The municipality of Belo Horizonte and the Public Ministry of Minas Gerais have filed actions in court to reverse the decision. Activists, social movements and civil society organizations launched the campaign “Tira o pé da minha Serra” [Hands off my Serra], which calls for the installation of a parliamentary investigation commission to investigate the bidding process.

Specialists say that a mining can increase deforestation in the region and compromise the water supply for the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais’s capital.