One small Indigenous territory is currently the site of roughly 70% of deforestation in Indigenous territories across the Brazilian Amazon due to illegal mining over the last two years, according to government data.
The Sararé Indigenous Territory in Mato Grosso state is home to about 200 Nambikwara people. From January 2024 to August 2025, illegal gold mining razed more than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of forest within their territory — more than 4% of its total area of 67,000 hectares (165,600 acres).
The aggressive encroachment of illegal gold miners into the Sararé territory is relatively recent. According to a Greenpeace report, just 78 hectares (193 acres) of the territory had been impacted by mining until 2018. This began to grow gradually starting in 2021.
In 2023, there were an estimated 250-300 miners in the territory. This year, government agents estimate that around 2,000 miners were operating on the land.
From January to August this year, Sararé experienced 85% higher deforestation due to illegal mining than the combined total recorded in the next nine most impacted Indigenous territories, which together lost 640 hectares (1,581 acres) in the same period.
Sararé was not included in any top mining alerts up to 2023, but has now emerged as the number one territory, by far, impacted by mining.
The Kayapó Indigenous Territory, located in the state of Pará, appeared in second place for land lost to mining in 2024. Despite the territory being around 49 times larger than Sararé, it lost nearly 10 times less land to illegal mining operations.
Federal police forces have carried out several large raids to destroy mining equipment in the Sararé territory.
The latest operation, in September, located 14 bunkers filled with supplies and destroyed four underground mining areas, 42 stationary engines used to run pumps and machinery, and more than 100 campsites.
Banner image: Satellite image showing the destruction of the Sararé Indigenous Territory in Mato Grosso state, Brazil, left behind by illegal gold mining. Image via Google.
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