The Untimely Death of Gandarela
Serra do Gandarela
Exploratory drilling rig
Toxic waste dump, gold mining, Serra do Gandarela
Contaminated water source
The Serra do Gandarela is a national park of ‘outstanding natural beauty’ and unique biodiversity. It boasts over a hundred waterfalls and one of the most important hydrological reserves in the country, an immense underground reservoir of premium, crystal clear drinking water. It’s cursed fate is to be located in what is called the Quadrilátero Ferrífero, a vast mountain range to the south of Belo Horizonte, disfigured by open cast mining. It was a warm sunny day as I wound my way up through birdsong woodland trails that eventually opened up onto a plateau which at over a thousand metres frames spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. Dry rocky scrubland with alpine cacti and tiny orchids, and beneath my feet lumps of glistening iron ore, quartz and other rainbow-coloured minerals that make the area such a target for the predatory activities of global mining giants such as Vale and Samarco. Their determination to get their hands on the rich veins of both iron and gold has inevitably led to conflict with local communities and environmental activists. Intensive large-scale mining requires vast amounts of water and protestors have insisted that not only will the park be mutilated by a two-hundred-metre-deep hole, invasive red dust clouds and deafening truck convoys, but the waterfalls, natural springs and water reserves that supply surrounding towns will run dry. Mining corporations have been quick to counter such accusations. Skilled in the art of ideological camouflage, they insist that they have moved on from the past into an era of ‘sustainable mining’ characterised by transparent dialogue with communities, and a profound sense of environmental and social responsibility. The manifest absurdity of such claims matters little. The dependence of the Brasilian economy on selling primary resources, means that the mining giants have the backing of local and national politicians. The invasion of the Serra do Gandarela then seems like a question of when not if. In fact, the mining companies are already there. On either side of the red earth road that cuts across the top of the Serra are signs that read “Vale: Private Property. Entry prohibited.” Dotted across the summit are drilling rigs that are removing samples to assess the concentration and quality of mineral reserves. They are the front-line troops, testing ground conditions and paving the way for what will be nothing less than a full-scale military operation in which leviathan machines will rip the land asunder.