The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) filed a public civil action with a request for a preliminary injunction for the Federal Justice to immediately halt mining activities and the use of explosives by the company Verdebrita Mining and Mineral Trading Ltd., in Betim (MG). The measure aims to ensure the fulfillment of the right to free, prior, and informed consultation for the indigenous communities of the Katurãma and Ilha Grande villages, from the Pataxó and Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe peoples, who are affected by rock extraction and vibrations in their homes.
MPF investigations in a civil inquiry reveal the industrial scale and operational routine of the Verdebrita miner, located in the Gorduras Farm, in the Bandeirinhas neighborhood, in Betim. The enterprise occupies a rural property of 34.58 hectares, where originally about 93% of the area was classified as an environmental interest area (AIA-IV), on the banks of the Sarzedo Creek. Since the beginning of its licensing process, the activity's scale has been raised from Class 1 to Class 3, increasing the estimated gross production from 30,000 to 200,000 tons of gravel per year.
The plant operates in a continuous regime of up to 17 daily hours, divided into two production shifts, plus administrative time, mobilizing heavy machinery such as 34-ton excavators with hydraulic breakers, tractors, hydraulic drilling carts, compressors, and dump trucks.
Constant detonations cause soil vibrations and intense noises, leading to cracks and fractures in the homes of the villages, located in São Joaquim de Bicas (MG), on the border with Betim. In addition to structural damage to the buildings, the activity spreads atmospheric dust and generates risks with the throwing of stones at long distances, affecting the safety and routine of the indigenous families. The miner's own environmental studies acknowledge these risks.
Reorganization and territorial history
Indigenous communities reorganized in the region after the rupture of the tailings dam of miner Vale S.A. in Brumadinho (MG). The villages were established in the Japanese Forest area (Katurãma Village) and on a rural property formally acquired by the indigenous association (Ilha Grande Village), where they develop their community lives. The MPF highlights that, although the miner's enterprise is located in Betim and the villages in the neighboring border, the mining effects transcend administrative borders, directly impacting the territory inhabited by the indigenous people.
Public power refusal and licensing failures
Despite the direct effects observed in the routine and habitats of the community, the Municipal Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development (Semmad) of Betim refused to conduct the prior consultation required by legislation. The municipal body justified the refusal by pointing to the physical distance between the company and the villages (5.6 km in a straight line) and citing a state norm, which was later revoked by the State Government after its effects were suspended by a precautionary measure granted by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) in Direct Action of Inconstitucibility (ADI) 7776.
The MPF also points to the existence of flaws in the environmental licensing procedure conducted by the municipality, such as the cancellation of the first public hearing due to the lack of availability of the environmental impact study and environmental impact report (EIA/Rima) on the electronic portal of the secretariat, for prior access by the population. In addition, a technical opinion favorable to the project was issued before the community's hearing.
The action highlights that consultation with affected communities is an obligation of the public power provided for in International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 169. This legal duty is also supported by the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) and the guidelines of the National Council of Justice (CNJ).
"Free, prior, and informed consultation is a mechanism for dialogue between indigenous peoples and traditional communities with the state, and not a bureaucratic step to be completed by a private entrepreneur," emphasizes Prosecutor Helder Magno da Silva, author of the action. "The interference caused by mining activities does not stop at map boundaries and imposes the duty to listen to the community before any decision," he points out.
Requests of the action
In the public civil action, the MPF requests, in an urgent manner, that the Federal Justice suspend the environmental licensing process of the miner and immediately halt the explosions and mining extraction. The request establishes that the public consultation be planned and conducted directly by the public administration, following the guidelines of the autonomous consultation protocol carried out by the communities themselves and with technical follow-up and mediation by the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai). Any attempt to delegate, outsource, or transfer the conduct of the consultative procedure to the interested private entrepreneur should be prohibited.
In addition, it was requested to prohibit the miner from holding parallel meetings, direct approaches, financial offers, or private consultations with the indigenous people. Finally, the MPF requests the condemnation of the company to pay R$ 1 million in collective and socio-environmental moral damages, with resources destined for projects of territorial and cultural strengthening of the villages.