Brazil is expected to see the advancement of a new gold project in the state of Amapá, with expected investments of up to 2 billion reais (US$400 million).
This week, the Amapá State Secretariat for the Environment (Sema) issued the operating license and the water use permits for Amapá Minerals, the local unit of Canadian company Tucano Gold, owner of the Tucano mine.
“The mining company has contracts with 20 service providers and investments for the next 10 years are expected to reach 2 billion reais. Over the next three years, the estimated return to public coffers is approximately 600 million reais through taxes, royalties, and compensatory funds,” the state government said in a statement.
At the beginning of this year, Tucano Gold signed a binding letter of intent with an undisclosed private equity group to obtain 98 million Canadian dollars (US$70 million), which should give the company breathing room to invest in its operation in Brazil.
Tucano Gold took over the Tucano mine at the end of 2023 and expects it to become one of Brazil’s largest gold processing plants, with capacity to produce 3.5Mt/a.
With high price levels, gold projects in Brazil have been gaining scale.
Investments in the gold sector in Brazil are expected to reach US$2.46 billion (bn) in the period between 2026 and 2030, an increase of 14.8% compared to the cycle between 2025 and 2029, according to projections by Ibram, an association that represents the major mining companies in Brazil.
In addition to investments, the gold segment is leading to an increase in revenue in the Brazilian mining sector.
In the first quarter of this year, Brazil recorded revenue of 13.5 billion (bn) reais, an increase of 45% compared to the same period last year.
Analysts at major international banks have revised upward in recent months their projections for the price of gold, as central banks around the world have sought the asset as a form of protection in the face of a more tense geopolitical scenario.
Illegal Mining
If, on the one hand, high gold prices have supported more investment in the sector, the scenario has also led to an increase in incidents associated with illegal mining, which has concerned players in the segment.
During a recent public hearing in the Chamber of Deputies, Pablo Cesário, president of Ibram, warned about the advance of illegal mining in Brazil and the growing infiltration of organized crime in the activity.
According to him, gold has been used as an instrument for money laundering and concealment of illicit assets. “Illegal mining in Brazil has extremely serious environmental effects and very significant social impacts, but the problem has worsened in recent years with the increasingly evident infiltration of organized crime,” said Cesário.
Despite acknowledging some progress by the Brazilian authorities in combating illegal activity, the Ibram executive expressed concern about Bill No. 3025/2023, approved by the Chamber of Deputies, considering that the proposal represents a setback in gold traceability mechanisms.
“The [bill] reopens loopholes for self-declaration and weakens important advances achieved in recent years in the fight against illegal gold laundering. Traceability control needs to start at the production stage, and not only at the point of purchase,” he said.
By – https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/gold-drives-a-new-cycle-of-investments-in-mining-in-brazil