Licence suspended while legal dispute continues

Brazil’s Supreme Court has suspended an installation licence for Belo Sun Mining’s proposed Volta Grande gold project in Pará state, a setback for plans to develop an open-pit mine along the Xingu River.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Edson Fachin issued the decision on Monday, and it was made public on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. He found that the company had not demonstrated full compliance with environmental requirements and protections for Indigenous communities, including impact studies and consultation obligations.

The ruling pauses the installation licence; it does not amount to a final judgment on the project or establish that mining has begun. Belo Sun had regained the licence through a lower-court decision earlier this year and told investors it would remain valid until 2029. The latest suspension is provisional while the legal process continues.

Indigenous consultation and cumulative impacts

The proposed mine would be located in the Volta Grande region, where communities have raised concerns about the combined effects of mining and the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam. The dam has already altered the river’s flow and affected fish populations and people who depend on the waterway, AP reported.

Sol Juruna, a member of the Middle Xingu Indigenous Women’s Movement, told AP that even slight contamination could devastate local livelihoods.

The Juruna and Arara communities have said they were not properly consulted. Belo Sun disputes that claim. Brazil’s Indigenous affairs agency, FUNAI, has identified gaps in studies of impacts on communities, including those outside formally demarcated territories.

Environmental groups and Indigenous organisations welcomed the court’s intervention, while the company’s position and the legal status of the licence remain part of ongoing proceedings. The case turns on whether the project’s environmental review and consultation process meet legal requirements before construction can proceed.