Mining Observatory

The Mining Observatory, founded in 2015 by journalist Maurício Angelo, is an investigative journalism center and think tank focused on the extractive sector. We research and investigate the role of mining in the global climate crisis and energy transition, focusing on critical and strategic minerals, the geopolitics involved, climate goals and plans, and we seek to identify possible paths towards a just transition. Illegal mining, megaprojects, the activities of multinational companies and the impacts of the extractive sector on all Brazilian biomes, with emphasis on the Amazon and Cerrado, are also on our radar. We carry out advocacy actions in the National Congress, together with public authorities at different levels, with partner NGOs, academic entities and social movements. We produce special reports, technical notes and scientific contributions to the climate, mining and energy transition agenda. We report on how indigenous peoples, quilombolas, riverside communities, traditional communities and entire regions are affected by mining projects, thinking of solutions and alternatives so that mining actually contributes to local and national development. We mapped financiers, investors and the entire global extraction, production, distribution and export chain, revealing the main actors involved, analyzing discourse and practice. We specialize in covering political movements on the subject, the mineral lobby and we closely monitor issues such as environmental licensing, relevant legal and infra-legal changes and the actions of the Judiciary. The two dam collapses in Mariana and Brumadinho (2015 and 2019), the biggest socio-environmental disasters in Brazil's history, have been our focus since the beginning. Read more about all the impact achieved to date: https://observatoriodamineracao.com.br/impacto/