Mining Claims Ring 278 Indigenous Territories
Brazil’s Critical-Minerals Rush

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As the world rushes toward EVs and renewable energy, the Brazilian Amazon and its surroundings are drawing attention as a new resource frontier. That pressure is now reaching the very borders of land where Indigenous peoples live.

2,055 Claims, 278 Territories

According to a survey by the Energy Transition Observatory, as of April 2026, 2,055 critical-mineral mining claims overlap with the interior of Brazil’s Indigenous territories or fall within 10 km of their borders. The territories affected number 278 — 44% of all Indigenous territories in the country. What is sought is lithium, nickel, copper and niobium, all essential to EV batteries and power grids, with surging international demand. Brazil is said to hold most of the world’s niobium reserves.

A Bill to “Legalize Mining on Indigenous Land”

Although the constitution allows mining on Indigenous land, it has come this far without detailed enabling legislation. A bill to fill that gap is moving through Congress. Yet it is criticized for not requiring free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) from Indigenous communities. ILO Convention 169, which Brazil ratified, calls for FPIC, but the bill under review effectively omits the procedure, and Indigenous organizations sharply condemn it as a stripping of rights.

The Courts, and the Indigenous Response

In February 2026, Federal Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino set Congress a 24-month deadline to write rules regulating mining on Indigenous land. It amounts to a push to legislate, but whether the content protects Indigenous rights is up to Congress. At the Free Land Camp (Acampamento Terra Livre) 2026 in April, Indigenous leaders voiced strong opposition to a bill allowing mining. At the root is anger at a structure in which the benefits of the mining boom flow to cities and foreign investors while local communities bear the destruction of ecosystems and livelihoods.

The Contradiction of the “Green Transition”

The shift to EVs and renewables is called essential for the climate. Yet the contradiction — that the process of extracting the materials can be inseparable from destruction of Indigenous Amazon land — tends to vanish from view inside global supply chains. Reports already flag deforestation and mercury pollution from mining, and the way illegal mining (garimpo) flows into Indigenous territories echoes past gold rushes. Whether this minerals rush avoids the same path depends on the quality of the law Congress writes and the power to enforce it.

To mine the minerals for a green transition from Indigenous land — unless we ask what sits at the start of that supply chain, the word sustainability rings hollow.

※ This article is the author’s commentary based on public information. Please confirm the latest figures, dates and procedures with governments and primary sources. Quotations are kept minimal and sources are cited.