From January to September 2025, a total of 335 hectares were deforested through illegal mining in Indigenous Territories in the Xingu River Basin. The analysis indicates that sporadic enforcement actions have not been sufficient to contain the advance of this activity.
Brasilia and Washington, DC, May 06, 2026 — A study reveals that illegal mining maintains a continuous presence in Indigenous Lands in the Amazon, especially in the Xingu River Basin, between the states of Mato Grosso and Pará, raising an alert about the growing risks to the forest and its populations.
The analysis, conducted by Amazon Conservation's MAAP (Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program) in partnership with the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), which led the report, combines data from MAAP and two monitoring systems, the SiRAD X, from the Xingu+ Network and Amazon Mining WatchThe research, conducted by Amazon Conservation, Earth Genome, and the Pulitzer Center, uses satellite imagery, radar, and artificial intelligence to detect mining areas. The methodologies complement each other, and the systems identify consistent patterns of expansion of mining activity over time.
The data shows that, from January to September 2025, a total of 335 hectares were deforested in Indigenous Lands, highlighting the continued pressure from illegal mining on the region.
According to the report, at least 11.500 hectares of forest were lost between 2018 and 2024 in Indigenous Lands and protected areas of the Xingu River Basin. And deforestation associated with illegal mining continues within protected territories, even after recent enforcement actions.
Territory under pressure
At the heart of this dynamic is the Xingu Socio-environmental Diversity Corridor, one of the largest continuous blocks of officially protected forests on the planet, with more than 26 million hectares connecting 24 Indigenous Territories and 9 protected areas. It plays a fundamental role in the conservation of the Amazon rainforest, but remains under increasing pressure from illegal mining, agricultural expansion, illegal logging, and forest fires caused by human actions.
This first excerpt from the study provides a detailed analysis of three Indigenous Territories: Kuruaya, Baú, and Kayapó, and shows how illegal mining has advanced in recent years, with direct impacts on territories and communities.
In the Kuruaya Indigenous Territory, illegal mining has intensified along the Madalena River. Between 2023 and July 2025, the impacted area exceeded 34 hectares. In the Baú Indigenous Territory, the report identifies at least 110 hectares of destroyed forest, with records of armed conflicts between miners and indigenous peoples.
The most critical case is that of the Kayapó Indigenous Territory, which concentrates the largest area deforested by illegal mining in the Brazilian Amazon. Data from the report, based on the Amazon Mining Watch platform, indicate a cumulative total of approximately 7.940 hectares impacted, with 140 hectares deforested between January and September 2025. Despite federal government operations to remove miners and machinery from the region in May, at least 2 new hectares of mining area were registered in June.
“The data from the systems used by both institutions leave no doubt that the Xingu Corridor is facing a scenario of increasing and widespread pressure, with illegal mining advancing into previously preserved regions. This requires a long-term structural response to guarantee the integrity of these forests and their people,” says Thaise Rodrigues, Geoprocessing Analyst at the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA).
Technology and monitoring reveal consistent patterns.
In 2025, the Socio-Environmental Institute partnered with Amazon Conservation, expanding access to high-resolution satellite imagery provided by Planet through MAAP. This resource allowed for improved validation of alerts and identification of pressure vectors. The collaboration also integrates the public Amazon Mining Watch dashboard, developed in partnership by Amazon Conservation, Earth Genome, and the Pulitzer Center.
The Xingu+ Network conducts monthly monitoring of deforestation and other pressures in the Xingu Corridor through SiRAD X (Xingu Remote Deforestation Alert System), which uses radar technology. The system also relies on a network of local partners responsible for territorial surveillance directly in the field.
The Amazon Mining Watch platform is a monitoring system that uses artificial intelligence and satellite data to detect deforestation caused by illegal mining in all countries of the Amazon basin.
The effects of illegal mining go far beyond deforestation. The activity is associated with mercury contamination of rivers, loss of biodiversity, and increased socio-environmental conflicts, jeopardizing the safety and livelihoods of indigenous and riverside communities, as well as urban populations that consume forest and river products and their environmental services, such as climate regulation.
“This is one of the most comprehensive analyses ever produced on the growing impact of gold mining on Indigenous Lands and protected areas in the Xingu Corridor, one of the main mining hotspots in the Brazilian Amazon. By bringing together complementary and unprecedented data, it expands the capacity to understand recent dynamics and guide more effective monitoring, enforcement, and decision-making actions,” explains Matt Finer, director of the MAAP program at Amazon Conservation.
From response to action
The report highlights that, in addition to operations to remove illegal miners, it is necessary to coordinate inter-institutional actions and prioritize the implementation of public policies in territories threatened by illegal mining. Among the main recommendations are the creation of a permanent inter-institutional task force to dismantle illegal mining logistics networks, the strengthening of oversight bodies such as IBAMA, ICMBio, and FUNAI, the expansion of territorial monitoring conducted by indigenous communities, and progress in the traceability of the gold supply chain, with greater transparency regarding its origin.
Without a long-term strategy, the study warns of the high risk of recurring invasions after enforcement operations.
This report is part of a two-part series on the advance of illegal mining in the Xingu River Basin. This first edition analyzes Indigenous Lands, while the second will address the advance of deforestation associated with illegal mining in protected areas, focusing the analysis on three conservation units: the Altamira National Forest, the Terra do Meio Ecological Station, and the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve.
About the Socio-Environmental Institute
With the motto "socio-environmental is written together," the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA) was founded in 1994. Since then, ISA has worked side-by-side with long-standing partners from indigenous, quilombola, and traditional communities to develop solutions that protect and restore their territories, strengthen their cultures and traditional knowledge, raise their representative profiles, develop sustainable and community-led economies, and value their contributions to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
About MAAP
The Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) is an initiative of Amazon Conservation, Conservación Amazónica–ACCA (Peru), and Conservación Amazónica–ACEAA (Bolivia) that provides cutting-edge technical analysis on deforestation, mining, and fires throughout the Amazon. MAAP uses satellite imagery, data science, and field information to produce timely reports that support conservation actions and public policy formulation.
About Amazon Conservation
Amazon Conservation is an international non-profit organization that has been working for over 25 years to promote a healthy and resilient Amazon. Its integrated approach is based on working with local partners and allies to protect natural areas, strengthen communities, and apply science and technology for conservation. For more information, visit amazonconservation.org.
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