{"id":83990,"date":"2026-06-08T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T22:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=83990"},"modified":"2026-06-06T14:54:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T12:54:45","slug":"what-true-cost-of-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/83990\/what-true-cost-of-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the True Cost of Gold?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At a time of geopolitical instability, economic uncertainty and growing competition for strategic resources, gold has re-emerged as a symbol of a secure investment. Investors buy it. Central banks stockpile it. Luxury brands sell it.<\/p>\n\n

But behind part of this global trade lies a hidden cost: one measured in destroyed forests, contaminated rivers and Indigenous territories under attack.<\/p>\n\n

A new Greenpeace Brazil investigation, Gold Laundering in the Amazon: Anatomy of a Fraud<\/em><\/a>, reveals how illegally mined gold from the Brazilian Amazon can be laundered into legal supply chains and reach markets around the world. <\/p>\n\n

How gold laundering happens in Brazil<\/h2>\n\n

At the centre of the scheme, revealed by the report, are the permits provided by the Brazilian Mining Agency, a licensing system originally created to regulate artisanal mining. Because the permits can be granted without prior geological surveys and rely on self-declared estimates of a site’s productive potential, there are no reliable technical parameters to verify whether reported production volumes are realistic. According to the report, this loophole allows gold extracted illegally from Indigenous Territories and conservation areas to be laundered into legal supply chains.<\/p>\n\n

\"From
Greenpeace Brazil and Greenpeace Germany, together with partners, carried out an agenda in the state of Mato Grosso to denounce the occurrence of mining in the Amazon Indigenous Lands.
\u00a9 Samara Souza \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

What the investigation found<\/h2>\n\n

Greenpeace Brazil analysed 187 mining permits between 2018 and March 2026, and identified 98 with signs of irregularities. Together, they accounted for 25.3 tonnes of declared gold worth approximately US$3,66 billion at current market prices. <\/p>\n\n

The Greenpeace Brazil investigation shows a gold laundering scheme that, for decades, has used a legal instrument to insert gold stolen from Indigenous Territories and other protected areas in the Amazon into national and international markets. <\/p>\n\n

The impacts of illegal gold mining in the Amazon<\/h2>\n\n

The consequences of this system reach far beyond the mining sites themselves. Between 2023 and 2025 alone, more than 5,249 hectares of rainforest were destroyed by gold mining inside Indigenous Territories in the Brazilian Amazon, an area equivalent to around 7,500 football fields. Illegal mining contaminates rivers with mercury, destroys biodiversity, fuels violence and accelerates invasions into protected areas.<\/p>\n\n

The impacts are particularly severe for Indigenous communities. Mercury contamination threatens food systems and water sources, while violence associated with illegal mining disrupts community life and undermines territorial security. Indigenous women often face some of the harshest consequences, including increased harassment, exploitation and violence. In the Munduruku Indigenous Territory, a recent study found that 98.5% of pregnant Indigenous women examined had mercury levels above safe thresholds in their bodies.<\/p>\n\n

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We want to live in a standing and living Amazon, with our rights protected, with clean rivers, with fish free from contamination, and without the constant threat of invasions.<\/em><\/p>\n– Alessandra Korap Munduruku, Indigenous Leader<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n

How Indigenous Peoples are resisting and taking action<\/h2>\n\n

For generations, Indigenous Peoples and local communities have stood on the frontline of forest protection. Through ways of life deeply connected to and respectful of nature, they have safeguarded the most important ecosystems on Earth long before the world began discussing climate negotiations<\/a>, biodiversity frameworks<\/a> or rights-based solutions<\/a>. Despite representing only 6% of the global population, Indigenous Peoples manage or hold tenure rights over 25% of the earth\u2019s surface and at least 37% of the remaining natural lands worldwide.<\/p>\n\n

\"Indigenous
Indigenous leaderships and activists protested in Bras\u00edlia against the Bill 191, that aims to legalize illegal mining in indigenous lands, by marching to ministries buildings full of mud and fake blood, representing the death toll, violence and suffering caused by illegal mining. In front of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, gold bars with the word “crime” on them were placed, alongside a giant banner created by the artist Ibraim Nascimento with the aid of Indigenous People from the camp.
\u00a9 Diego Baravelli \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

As illegal gold mining advances across the Amazon, Indigenous Peoples are once again leading the response. This June, prominent Indigenous leaders are traveling across France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy as part of \u201cThe True Cost of Gold\u201d tour. <\/p>\n\n

The group includes: <\/p>\n\n