Snapshot: The Onça Puma nickel mine, operated by Vale in Pará, Brazil, has been linked to contamination affecting the Xikrin Indigenous People. A study by the Federal University of Pará found nearly all 720 surveyed Indigenous People had unsafe levels of lead, mercury, and nickel, with extreme cases surpassing safe limits by over 2,000%. The pollution is likely due to mining activity in the Cateté River. Vale has denied responsibility for the contamination of the river. A 2022 compensation agreement between Vale and the Xikrin Indigenous People, did not address health issues. On 21 February 2025, Brazil’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office sued Vale, the Brazilian government, and the state of Pará, demanding accountability and long-term health protections.

In February 2024 the Pará’s state environmental secretary suspended the environmental licence for Vale’s Onça Puma nickel mine, citing irregularities in its annual environmental report and failures in required mitigation measures.

In June 2024, Vale reached agreements with the Pará State General Attorney's Office and the Pará State Environment Secretariat, which were approved by the Federal Supreme Court (STF). These agreements, facilitated through the Center for Consensual Conflict Resolution, aimed to reinstate the operating licences for the Onça-Puma and Sossego mines.

On 21 February 2025, Brazil’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office filed a lawsuit against Vale and the Brazilian government, alleging severe contamination in Xikrin territory, allegedly coming from Vale’s Onça Puma mine via the Cateté River. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office demands that Vale establishes a permanent health monitoring programme for the Xikrin community. It also calls on the state of Pará, which granted the mine’s environmental licence, and the federal government, responsible for Indigenous health policies, to provide technical and administrative support, ensuring proper environmental oversight. Vale denies responsibility, citing court-appointed experts, while Pará’s environmental agency references a 2024 mitigation agreement.

The case is ongoing.