"Bauxite mine in the Amazon: What if the dam bursts?" 6 November 2025

In the Brazilian state Pará, residents of the communes Saracá, Macedônia and Boa Nova fear a dam failure on the premises of mining company Mineração Rio do Norte (MRN)...

The Swiss corporation Glencore is a shareholder in the bauxite mine. Voices calls on the corporation to use its influence and respond to the concerns of those affected locally...

MRN, according to its own statements, mines more than 12 million tonnes of bauxite each year in the region. This amounts to around 40 percent of production in Brazil, the country that is now the fourth-largest bauxite producer worldwide. The resulting waste is stored in huge retention basins, secured by dams...

According to research from the investigative platform Observatório da Mineração, the risk classifications of MRN’s Saracá and Oriximaná dams have been changed more than 50 times since 2017, often without any comprehensible justification...

. In response to a request from Voices, MRN writes that its facilities comply with legal requirements, are “frequently inspected by state regulatory authorities,” and are monitored 24 hours a day...

Glencore has held a 45 percent stake in MRN since the end of 2023 and is represented on its board of directors. In response to a request from Voices, Glencore writes: “In joint ventures that we do not control or operate, we seek to use our influence to encourage them to act in accordance with our policies, for example through representation on the board.”