Company continues sales of machines after complaint in mining – 10/19/2023 – Environment

After Hyundai announced the suspension of sales of hydraulic excavators in regions with a high incidence of illegal mining in the Amazon, a dealer of the brand changed its address on the Transamazônica highway, in Itaituba (PA), and continues selling machines. The store even tells customers that it continues to meet mining demands in the region.

The report from Sheet was at the old and new addresses of BMG Comércio de Máquinas in Itaituba. The company is headquartered in São Paulo and has branches in Itaituba, Jacareacanga (PA), Ourilândia do Norte (PA) and Boa Vista (RR), as reported on its website.

In the city of Pará crossed by BR-230, the Transamazônica, the company left the warehouse it occupied on one side of the highway and moved to a smaller space just over 500 meters away, on the same highway. The company says that sales are of products that were already in stock.

Excavators are not on display, only agricultural tractors. Inside, a room is reserved for serving customers interested in purchasing excavators for mining. Employees prepare the budget and say that the machinery can be taken from the headquarters in São Paulo to the Amazon region.

Hyundai announced the termination of the contract with BMG on April 28, in reaction to the release of a Greenpeace report with a survey of hydraulic excavators in Brazilian indigenous lands most impacted by illegal gold mining.

The NGO carried out overflights from 2021 to March 2023 and recorded the existence of 176 hydraulic excavators operating illegally in the exploration of gold in the Yanomami indigenous lands, in Roraima, and Mundurucu and Kayapó, in Pará. These are the territories with the largest mining areas in the country .

The mapping identified the manufacturers of heavy machinery. A single machine can carry out an excavation in 24 hours that would take three men 40 days to complete.

Of the 176 excavators detected, 75 (42.6%) were manufactured by Hyundai HCE Brasil, according to Greenpeace. Hyundai is South Korean and has a heavy equipment factory in Itatiaia (RJ).

In a statement after the survey was released, the manufacturer stated that “the destruction of the Amazon environment and the violation of indigenous lands resulting from illegal mining are serious problems.”

The company promised to improve the sales process to prevent illegal use of excavators. Until the measures take effect, sales of machines and parts are suspended to customers suspected of illegal activities, according to the statement. In addition, Hyundai announced “immediate termination of the contract with the company BMG, which operated in the Amazon region.”

BMG has representation in Itaituba and Jacareacanga, the cities closest to the Mundurucu Indigenous Land; in Ourilândia do Norte, a municipality close to villages in the Kayapó Indigenous Land; and in Boa Vista, base for illegal mining logistics operators in the Yanomami Indigenous Land.

There is an illegal gold exploration corridor in the Tapajós river region where Itaituba and Jacareacanga are located. Municipalities benefit from this clandestine market.

In addition to the Mundurucu land, there are mines in neighboring conservation units, such as Tapajós APA, Amaná National Forest, Crepori National Forest and Rio Novo National Park. These units are the most impacted by mining in the country.

A Sheetthe director of operations at BMG Máquinas, Denis Batista, said that sales refer to machines that were already in stock.

“I have some machinery, yes. I must have about five machines, which were already in stock”, he stated. “I’m not going to get rid of the machines because of this. I have to sell the machines.”

According to him, there is no relationship between the business and illegal mining. “The machines were never sold for illegal mining, nor to people who work on indigenous lands. BMG is not the exclusive seller in the state. If there are other sellers selling Hyundai machines, it is not known to me.”

The report sent questions to Hyundai HCE Brasil via the available channel and there were no responses.

On October 7, a report published by Sheet showed the consequences of the advance of illegal mining in Mundurucu land, following the entry of hydraulic excavators.

Illegal gold exploration disorganizes communities, generates internal conflicts, engulfs village farms, muddy rivers, dumps mercury into the water and makes indigenous people sick, with the spread of malaria and diarrhea.

Children have neurological problems and developmental delays, a condition that may be associated with mercury contamination of their mothers and that needs investigation, according to health professionals who monitor the situation of the mundurukus.

The report was the second chapter of the series “Siege of Villages”, which shows the infestation of mining operations right up to the communities’ backyards.

The first chapter showed the reality of the Kayapó land, the territory most devastated by illegal gold exploration in the country. Craters surround the villages, there is collusion on the part of indigenous groups and fees are charged for excavators to enter. Village leaders are trying alternatives to predatory activity, such as carbon credits.