Abstract

The current environmental disasters caused by the mining sector in Brazil, Mariana and Brumadinho in Minas Gerais State, created a great concern on the practice of this activity in the Amazon. The Mining Industry in the Amazon is one of the most profitable industries in Brazil, e.g, for the Pará State the mining industry represented 4% of the GDP–Gross Domestic Product-and generated 180,000 direct jobs. Nowadays, in the Amazon, the mining industry challenges are the absence of technologies capable of increasing exploitation and reducing hazards associated to this activity. Stated as region of expansion for the Brazilian Mining Sector, the mining industry in the Amazon generates concerns due to its territorial expansion that represents 60% of Brazil’s continental area and due to conflicts caused by land usage. The biggest ventures of this industry were installed in the twentieth century in order to begin the exploration of diverse elements as: tin from the Pitinga mine (Amazonas State); bauxite from Trombetas, Paragominas and Juruti mines; iron, copper and nickel from Carajás mine; kaolin from Capim River basin (Pará State); manganese from Serra do Navio; and kaolin from Jari mine (Amapá State)./p>