Brazil uses forensic science to trace gold’s origin and tackle illegal mining in the Amazon
Summary
Brazil is using forensic science to trace the origin of gold and fight illegal mining in the Amazon rainforest. The country’s federal police analyze gold samples to check if they come from protected areas, helping to stop deforestation and mercury pollution caused by illegal mining.Key Facts
- Brazil’s National Institute of Criminalistics in Brasilia runs a “gold lab” to analyze gold samples.
- The lab uses a method called "gold fingerprinting" to identify where the gold was mined by studying its unique chemical makeup.
- Each gold sample contains trace elements like silver and copper that act like a fingerprint.
- This forensic method helps confirm if gold was taken illegally from protected forests or Indigenous lands.
- The technique has been developed since 2019 with Brazilian universities and uses advanced tools such as X-ray fluorescence and mass spectrometry.
- Illegal mining in the Amazon drives deforestation and dangerous mercury contamination.
- Criminals often try to sell illegally mined gold through legal markets by using fraud.
- Since 2023, about 1.2 million acres of rainforest have been cleared for mining in the Amazon, with nearly half in Brazil.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
