Brazil’s Federal Police has inaugurated a forensic geochemistry laboratory intended to compare seized gold with reference data from mineral deposits, supporting investigations into illegal mining and related environmental crimes.
Brazilian federal agencies have carried out separate operations against unauthorized gold mining in Rondônia and Pará, disabling dredges and land-based equipment while investigations seek to identify the financial and logistical networks involved.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has provisionally suspended the effects of a lower-court ruling that restored Belo Sun’s installation licence for the Volta Grande gold-mining project in Pará. The decision does not finally determine the project’s licensing dispute.
Brazil’s Federal Police said it disabled 15 dredges and related equipment during a joint operation with Ibama on the Madeira River in Rondônia. The action remains at the investigation stage, with no arrests, charges or final findings of liability announced.
Brazil’s INPE reported an estimated 3,335 km² of native-vegetation suppression in the Legal Amazon in 2025/2026 and a consolidated 5,516.69 km² in the Cerrado, both below previous lows in their respective monitoring series.
Brazil’s INPE space research institute says annual forest clearing in the Legal Amazon fell to 3,335 square kilometers in the year through July 2026, the lowest result in its Prodes series. The figure marks progress toward the government’s 2030 zero-deforestation objective, but does not mean that target has been met.
Brazil’s Federal Police said an operation with environmental agency Ibama personnel rendered 15 dredges inoperative on the Madeira River in Rondônia, in an investigation into alleged illegal mineral extraction.
Brazil’s space research agency estimates that deforestation in the Legal Amazon fell 41.8% in the latest PRODES monitoring period. The 2026 figure is preliminary and does not measure fires or wider forest degradation.
Brazil recorded 2,874.38 square kilometers of Amazon deforestation alerts from August 2025 through July 2026, down 36% from the prior DETER cycle. The rapid-alert measure guides enforcement and is distinct from INPE’s annual Prodes assessment.
Brazil’s National Mining Agency closed written submissions on October 14, 2026 for draft safety and emergency rules for mining piles. The consultation is complete, but the proposal has not yet become a final regulation.
Brazil’s INPE recorded 5,731 square kilometres of deforestation in the Legal Amazon in 2025, down from a 2021 peak of 13,038 square kilometres. The data show a sustained decline in measured forest loss, while separate DETER alerts also fell in the latest monitoring cycle.
Brazil’s environment and regional development ministers flew over fire-affected areas of Amazonas on October 11 as the federal government expanded a response that includes aircraft and firefighting crews. Officials have reported operational deployments and fires extinguished, but no outcome measure yet shows a reduction in overall fire damage or emissions.
Brazil’s INPE monitoring agency recorded 5,731 square kilometres of clear-cut deforestation in the Legal Amazon in 2025, down 12.07% from the consolidated 2024 figure. The reduction marks progress toward Brazil’s 2030 zero-deforestation objective, but substantial annual forest loss continues.
Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry has opened a public consultation on a proposed 1% greenhouse-gas emissions-reduction target for the natural-gas market in 2027. The target is not yet in force and would be met through biomethane participation in natural-gas consumption.
Brazil’s Federal Police and environmental agency Ibama reported destroying 22 dredges and five support vessels during an operation targeting illegal gold extraction on the Madeira River in Amazonas. No arrests or criminal charges were announced.
Brazil’s national space research institute recorded 5,731 square kilometers of PRODES-measured deforestation in the Legal Amazon in the year through July 2025, down 12.07% from the previous annual period.