The government of Goiás, still during the administration of Ronaldo Caiado (PSD), put on the agenda the review of the rules set out in the management plan for the Environmental Protection Area, which could allow mining in Chapada dos Veadeiros. The information was obtained by the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.
According to information obtained by the newspaper, there are more than 496 active research and exploration projects, of which at least 131 are linked to critical minerals in the region, which is known for its biodiversity and considered a World Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO.
For the projects to move forward, the government began reviewing the management plan for the Pouso Alto Environmental Protection Area, a state conservation unit that acts as a belt around the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park.
Continues after advertising
Currently, the standards applied to the area prevent the execution of high-impact activities, including mining. The review proposed by the government attempts to replace the ban with a model of compatibility between mining and environmental conservation.
Documents obtained by Sheet show that the State Secretariat for the Environment and Sustainable Development of Goiás created a working group to discuss mining in the area, which would be “legally possible” if the management plan is changed.
The 496 mining processes mentioned total 527 thousand hectares surrounding the entire national park and have already been registered with the National Mining Agency for research and exploration within the APA. Of the 131 linked to critical minerals, 31 are rare earths and cassiterite, while another 98 focus on manganese. The other two projects target, among other substances, nickel.
In 2025, Caiado’s administration had already approved a law to create the State Authority for Critical Minerals and a state fund focused on the sector. This year, the former governor and pre-candidate for the Presidency of the Republic joined forces with the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) by signing a memorandum on critical minerals providing exclusivity to the US government during an event with Marco Rubio.
In a note sent to Folha, the state management of Goiás, now in the hands of governor Daniel Vilela (MDB), stated that “it is not about making things more flexible, but about discussing with the community whether carrying out activities in the region is interesting or not.”
“Semad has managed the territory based on dialogue with residents and the understanding that decisions have to be taken collectively”, states an excerpt from the note.
Continues after advertising
According to the secretariat, the Pouso Alto Environmental Preservation Area has a management plan from 2016, which undergoes revisions every five years, and that the government of Goiás only brought the mining issue up for discussion at a time when it fulfills its legal duty to revisit the plan.
