Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
43 min, 38 s. VT documentary
File images and testimonies were originally captured in film and super –VHS permeated
throughout the film with mini- VD contemporaneous images and testimonies format.
Testimonies have been taken from some of the people who live in the mining
surrounding area and are, for sure, the mostly affected ones by the resulting
consequences, plus the testimony of a company CEO, a geologist, a MD PhD and also
from the Goias State Criminal Justice State Prosecutor.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Photography Direction
ALESSANDRO SILVEIRA
Art Direction
WALESCKA MARTINS
Lighting
ARCANJO DANIEL FONSECA
Production
FÁBIO CASTRO RAMOS
ARCANJO DANIEL FONSECA
Trailer
MARCOS COSTA
Still Photography
MOACIR GUERINO
Sound
A Missa da Terra Sem Males (The Mass for The Land with no Evil )
Concierto de Aranjuez – Adágio (Aranjuez Concert – Adage)
Type Of Negative
Amorphis
Murro no Olho (A Punch in the Eye)
Additional Images
The Corporation – Marck Achbar documentary film, Jennifer Abbot and Joel Bakan
Photos from the Paracatu History Museum and Paracatu Public Archives
General Direction
SANDRO NEIVA
JOSÉ FERREIRA GOMES (mining company neighbor) – Gold was the substance
flowing in Paracatu through the informal gold diggers (the “garimpeiros”). Most of the
local population owes its raising to informal gold diggery or to gold derived activities.
DIOGO SOARES RODRIGUES (Paracatu ex mayor) – The Portuguese found out there
was gold in Paracatu and the city came from its exploration. Gold diggers came from
different areas of the State to specifically mine its gold.
OFF 02 –Exactly as at the time of the dominant Portuguese Crown the gold
produced in Paracatu still keeps on flowing to overseas hands. For the Paracatu
inhabitants wounded land surface from open pit mining, chemical rejects depot -
where once there were beautiful valleys and unpolluted creeks and streams
surrounded by attractive mountain skylines - we now have buried poison, toxic
dust and an ailing population.
OFF 03 –Portuguese and their allies, the English, in colonial times, have been
replaced by the transnational Canadian KINROSS which runs the Rio Paracatu
Mineração, have been exploring gold in Paracatu since 1987.
CARMEN LOPES DOS REIS (mining company neighbor) – I do not find this right at
all! I find it disgusting. I keep looking and find it horrible that they have managed with
such an absurd situation as this. So beautiful it used to be around here! People feel sorry,
really sorry! The beauties of the river banks are gone and now we have to face them this
way!
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – The main damage can be inferred from the
water, air and soil. All streams or creeks which had the gold mountains as recharge
areas are seriously affected or forever gone.
CARMEN LOPES DOS REIS ( mining company neighbor) – IF we had been the ones
to perpetrate such an absurd situation INCRA would be after our heads, the Forest
Police would too and I don’t know who else would. Now just take a look, what
disgusting rubbish! Look closely to this most horrible thing!
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – Besides those, we also have the Saint Domingos
creek and the Saint Anthony creek, practically destroyed by the mining company.
VALDIR LOPES DOS REIS (mining company neighbor) – There is over there a tank
which tends to overflow into this direction – so at the rainy season they build up taller
protection walls so that the water does not overflow over here. The water that there
falls, there remains. They have brought in new heavy machinery that can go 1.000
meters deep into the soil to restrain the water there.
RÔNIA MARIANO (mining company neighbor) – This creek over here no longer has
flowing waters. It is finished. It used to experience flooding times. It could reach as far
as the mango tree you can see but today it does not reach the fence. For them to carry
out with mining procedures they will have to lower it about 100 meters. But as soon this
is accomplished the creek shall disappear. They will have to provide for urgent creek
transposition.
CHAPTER “FAUNA AND FLORA”
URUBATAN DOS SANTOS (mining company neighbor) – Neither fauna neither flora,
it is over!
VALDIR LOPES DOS REIS (mining company neighbor) – There is no more water, nor
mangabas, nor pequis, nor gabirobas.(typical local fruits).
URUBATAN DOS SANTOS (mining company neighbor) – We used to see around here
the mateiros (type of deer), siriemas (long legged cariamas) all around here is gone,
the soinhos (marmosets) are gone too. All disappeared.
VALDIR LOPES DOS REIS (mining company neighbor) – It used to be full of birds,
ducks which looked like geese – like the ones in the pantanal – beautiful specimens. We
used to have all around here.
CHAPTER “FREEDOM”
VALDIR LOPES DOS REIS (mining company neighbor) – One can no longer advance
into their land – they would not accept it. If you get into the adjacent areas to catch a
pequi fruit for example, they come after you demanding to see what is into the bag. It is
not unusual for their security guards to grab our bags and throw it away, saying it must
belong to the mining company. Our freedom to come and go at the countryside is gone.
JOSÉ FERREIRA GOMES (mining company neighbor) – That could have never
happened. We spend a lifetime in a place where suddenly all is forbidden – even to get
into there.
VALDIR LOPES DOS REIS – We have lived here for many years. They wanted to
prevent us from catching leftover firewood but we were forced to ignore it. As time
goes it gets worse. They increase the number of machinery and we keep on standing.
OFF 04 – There will never be enough for them. No corporation in the planet dares
neglecting the stockholders interests and their economics fundaments. Profit above
all, even over public interest. It is not Nature’s law. It is a very specific law. Whom
should they be loyal to?
RÔNIA MARIANO (mining company neighbor) –They want to buy the land from us
but they would even reach market price. Some people think they pay a fortune but the
do not.
VALDIR LOPES DOS REIS (mining company neighbor) – Their proposal is to buy
everything. They always say it.
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – Coward practices from the company or their
representatives to press people to sell their land for peanuts as they say in Paracatu. That
is not acceptable. Within the roots of everything lies the pressure approach, the
intimidation methods from the “grand company”.
ANDRESSA LOPES (mining company neighbor) – The area over there today belongs
to RPM.
VALDIR LOPES DOS REIS (mining company neighbor) – If you are willing to sell
they will buy all. The problem is: with this money we can not afford to replace it and
we can not raise our children.
URUBATAN DOS SANTOS (mining company neighbor) – Sure they just want to pay
the price they repute as fair.
ANÍSIO JOSÉ DE CARVALHO (mining company neighbor) – If they came looking for
fair business on a deal with us so that we could leave the area – which would be good
for us as well. But when they come they just want to know our price. They have never
made an offer. They do not want to deal.
RÔNIA MARIANO (mining company neighbor, showing the mining company’s leaflet
depicting the future landscape of the mining site) – The mine was re-habilitated. The
Cava Lake is here, right in my house.
RÔNIA MARIANO (mining company neighbor) – Two houses have been left.
Everything else they bought. Mrs Nenzinha and Pelé still remain. They know well what
is being done to them. When they arrived here they imposed the buying price but
Nenzinha and Pele would not sell it cheap.
ANDRESSA LOPES (mining company neighbor) – The money owner orders it all. The
poor ones there located, there used to live in go on retreating.
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – Hundred year old communities have been
disintegrated. People who were used to live in that environment are now being
dislodged. Theirs lives and their dreams are also scattered. Where are they supposed to
go to?
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – The right approach would be for this company
to re- allocate these communities to healthier sites , to provide them with whatever they
used to have before the RPM mining company arrived here.
MARIA CAMPOS DOS SANTOS (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) –
What do they expect from us? Would they expect us to live under a bridge or something
like that?
PAULO SERRANO NEVES (GOIAS State Criminal Prosecutor) – We do not share the
practice of rendering cult to immaterial values, non tangible values)
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – Even if it should not be possible to restitute the
environment where those people were born, were raised and spent their lives, much
could be done to partially restitute environmental health. The mining company had done
nothing so far.
MARIA CAMPOS DOS SANTOS (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) –
They have never approached me on buying the land but IF they do I shall not sell it
cheap.
MARIA PEREIRA GUIMARÃES (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – We
are entitled to all this. Double rights, one because we are afro - descendants and second
because it had been bought. Legally bought – we have an inventory on that since 1855.
MÁRCIO JOSÉ DOS SANTOS (geologist) – To talk about safe dam in Brazil or Minas
Gerais sounds more like a bad taste joke. Simply, because there is not such a thing as a
100% safe dam.
ANÍSIO JOSÉ DE CARVALHO (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – We
fear it all right. They say it is safe, there is no danger but we raise the question: Why
should man made construction resist destruction when even nature made things do not?
AUGUSTO TEIXEIRA (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – What do I
know? But I do not trust man made constructions are meant to be resistant.
MARIA PEREIRA GUIMARÃES (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) –
One wonders when they insist there is no danger.
AUGUSTO TEIXEIRA (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – I have seen
dams which exploded and flooded – and they seemed to be much stronger than this one.
MÁRCIO JOSÉ DOS SANTOS (geologist) – Even if the mining company C.E.O.
placed his family to live just below the dam I would still not accept that the dam is
100% safe.
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – It rains over the dam and we know water erosion
is quite efficient to destroy what they have built.
ANÍSIO JOSÉ DE CARVALHO (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) –
When there is flood the thing below cracks down - from up to down. No soon it happens
they rush to fix it up.
ANÍSIO JOSÉ DE CARVALHO (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – The
flooding overflows from one level to another level and then it fails to cope, it cracks…
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – There are grooves throughout the dam.
ANÍSIO JOSÉ DE CARVALHO (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – This
grooving comes from water erosion.
MÁRCIO JOSÉ DOS SANTOS (geologist) – My family would never live there.
AUGUSTO TEIXEIRA (land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – They say there
is no danger. They say so because they are not the ones who live down below.
MÁRCIO JOSÉ DOS SANTOS (geologist) – I would not advise anyone to live down
there, having the dam over their heads.
ANÍSIO JOSÉ DE CARVALHO (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – We
are in the middle of the area of risk. We run all sorts of risks.
AUGUSTO TEIXEIRA (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – I put all my
money here and for nothing, useless now, for me or my wife .I put an add at the real
estate agency but whenever the prospective buyer comes by the business does not
materialize. They fear the dam collapse.
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – There is a risk of rupture in the dam and that
happening it would spill the sludge toward the populations which are downstream the
dam and it would contaminate the environment with arsenic and other poisoning
substances which are present in the tailings.
RÔNIA MARIANO (mining company neighbor) – Gosh! The dust is an absurd! You
get up in the morning, fix all up in the house and soon afterwards it looks like an
earthquake went throughout the house.
ANÍSIO JOSÉ DE CARVALHO (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – On
rainy days when the wind comes along we get darkened environment all over – so much
dust there is.
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – Lack of vegetation expose mined areas as IF
there existed a dust plant. toxic dust, poisoning dust – spread all over town.
LEANDRO FRANCISCO (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – We
undergo a great problem with the cowboys. Many of them have come around just to
leave in no time because their children are soon affected by the problem.
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – A sulphet-rich ore, which in the presence of air
and water changes into an acid soup, quite rich in arsenic and sulfuric acid.
MÁRCIO JOSÉ DOS SANTOS (geologist) – Arsenic poses a great danger simply
because one does not know what to do about it.
LEANDRO FRANCISCO (mining company neighbor) – The white dust- it falls all over
your property. It is not worth cleaning the house because soon afterwards you can
literally write over the dust.
MÁRCIO JOSÉ DOS SANTOS (Geologist) – the finishing process uses an extremely
toxic substance called cyanide. Cyanide is lethal.
MÁRCIO JOSÉ DOS SANTOS (Geologist) – Great part of this used cyanide is put into
storage into tanks which are buried and kept underground. We are transferring the
cyanide problem to future generations.We are just burring the problem.
MÁRCIO JOSÉ DOS SANTOS (Geologist) – When such substances are carried by
water and precipitates/ infiltrates on the soil by means of acid drainage – which does
exist in that área – the contamination can reach many kilometers of distance.
OFF 06 – They make it legal for them to create murdering technologies. Profit is
what matters, continuous profit – “legal and sustainable” but for the enterprise
owner and stockholders at anyone else’s expenses.
CHAPTERS “ILLNESSES”
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – Scientific literature corroborates that in the
neighborhood of mines such as this operated by the Rio Paracatu Mineração – the
incidence of cancer can increase tenfold over normal indexes.
RÔNIA MARIANO (mining company neighbor) – If you just look at the people who
are affected by the proximity you will notice how they suffer from different illnesses ,
due to this RPM company.
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – This company main and mandatory obligation
lies with their stockholders. The local population is the one with all to lose. The
community loses its natural patrimony and its cultural patrimony. For the communities
and populations is left the socio-environmental, degrading impact.
ANÍSIO JOSÉ DE CARVALHO (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – The
noise is bothersome. One can not sleep when they are at work.
MARIA CAMPOS DOS SANTOS (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) –
The noise exceeds the tolerable. It is too much for one to cope.
ANÍSIO JOSÉ DE CARVALHO (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – We
have cracks all over our house. Whenever they operate the big tractor it all shakes. The
house is full of cracks.
RÔNIA MARIANO (mining company neighbor) – There is a month since they were
arresting garimpeiros at the river banks in Paracatu.
VALDIR LOPES DOS REIS (mining company neighbor) – The Forest Police came in
and took away the garimpeiros’ pan and everything else that was part of their job.
URUBATAN DOS SANTOS (mining company neighbor) – The gold belongs to the
people, to the ones who are the land users.
JOSÉ DO CARMO SOBRINHO (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – We
have always digged gold around here. There had never been any prohibition.
RÔNIA MARIANO (mining company neighbor) – There were people who worked all
day long to obtain one gram of gold. They have ended up into the police car.
VALDIR LOPES DOS REIS (mining company neighbor) – We now owe everywhere.
We used to prospect gold to purchase the everyday bread for the kids.
MANOEL MARTINS (mining company neighbor) – They seduce the people of Parcatu
by offering jobs. However, inside the RPM company the job opportunities are just for
lower and intermediate levels. The leading positions are for the ones out of town.
MANOEL MARTINS (mining company neighbor) – They damage our environment and
forward the profit to Canada and overseas.
JOÃO ARAÚJO DE OLIVEIRA (goldsmith) – No! Not here. It can not happen here.
Here we have the RPM company that explores the local gold but they would not sell it
to us. In the seventies and eighties it was easy to obtain gold because the mining
activities were democratic. One could easily acquire gold to work.
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – Suddenly all of the economy of a small city is
moved around to grant the success of a single company. Isn´t that true?
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – Though, individually this company can generate
many jobs – the municipality has diversified activities to grant its self- sufficiency.
There was self- sufficiency long before the Rio Paracatu Mineração came by.
URUBATAN DOS SANTOS (mining company neighbor) – Then… all that was left
was the “big gold diggery” (the “big garimpo”, the “garimpão”). The big gold diggery is
there.
CHAPTER “THE EXPANSION PROJECT III”
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – We now face a very serious risk – the three
major water springs, the main ones to form the Saint Rita Creek- to be completely
destroyed by a second tailings dam – a dam to have 11 kilometers of extension. The
existing dam already has around 1,000 hectares of surface and the other one is to be
bigger than this.
URUBATAN DOS SANTOS (mining company neighbor) – What about the flood? “ If
you do not cooperate you are going to be flooded “ – they put it this way.
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – The Rico Creek is the main one to go through
the city of Paracatu. The RPM Expansion Project will destroy this important water
spring. We were courting the preparations for the Rico Creek wake ceremony but we
know realize that through Rio Paracatu Mineração Expansion Project we are to prepare
the definite burial of the Rico Creek.
SERGIO ULHOA DANI (MD, PhD) – There is a serious problem as to have re-
composition of this mined area – subject to be kept degraded for various generations to
come.
URUBATAN DOS SANTOS (mining company neighbor) – This used to be the access.
It was natural that people would continue to come by the slag depot area.
URUBATAN DOS SANTOS (mining company neighbor) – When we talk about scrap
we mean leftovers, rejects, like scraped food. Whatever becomes leftover, is a reject.
URUBATAN DOS SANTOS (mining company neighbor) – They have entered the farm
several times – shooting at the “garimpeiros”.
URUBATAN DOS SANTOS (mining company neighbor) – Countless times I had asked
the security guards not to shoot adding that one day they would kill someone over there.
RÔNIA MARIANO (mining company neighbor) – The authorities deal with two
different weights and measurements. They prohibit us but they let free the mining
company destroying everything about.
LUIS ALBERTO ALVES (RPM/Kinross Director) – We use our own security forces,
police action and Public Ministry actions. We have hired a company specialized which
is specialized on dogs security support. They carry a badge, like the ones used by the
Shock Police Brigade. Our orientation to our guards lies on the following: administer it
but do not retreat. If you retreat, if you let they in, say goodbye.
OFF 08 – On the evening of June 27, 1998 the Paracatu Born citizens : Luis
Oliveira Lopes, José Oliveira Lopes and Evandro Oliveira Lopes – known as the
“Canela brothers ” – reached the RPM/Kinross depot to use leftover mined gold.
The first one was shot dead and the second one was paralyzed and died two years
later due to the shooting complications. Evandro was shot too, but managed to
survive the tragedy.
ANA LOPES DE MORAES (mother of dead “garimpeiros”) – They decided one day
they would get in there. They went but it did not work out the way they planned. They
had not even touched the slag. Before they had arrived there they received the shooting
and that was it. I was left without them, struggling to raise their children.
MÁRCIA LOPES OLIVEIRA (“garimpeiro” widow) – I was left with 5 small, suffering
kids. Since then I have been struggling to live my life alone.
LUIS ALBERTO ALVES (RPM/Kinross director) – Not to retreat! The only arm I have
today is “do not retreat”.
EVANDRO OLIVEIRA LOPES (dead “garimpeiro” brother) – The other one was shot
in the leg. He became an invalid. He remained on a wheelchair until he died.
ANA LOPES DE MORAES (mother of dead “garimpeiros”) – I did not. I was told there
was no way I would have a legal support.
ANA LOPES DE MORAES (mother of dead “garimpeiros”) – Never. I have never got
anything.
MÁRCIA LOPES OLIVEIRA (“garimpeiro” widow) – They did not deserve being
killed as they were. I even thought they could have been arrested but not killed. They
could have arrested them and incarcerated them.
ERIS RIBEIRO PEREIRA (dead “garimpeiro” cousin) – There were five of us. We
went there together. We were working and then the company group arrived next to the
palisades trying to ambush us and shooting. One of us, a cousin of mine was left behind
as we ran. He was caught and hardly hit before he was shot. They shot him on his back
and killed him. The shot could have hit me on my back if it were on a straight but I
quickly jumped over the palisades and the shot hit my foot. The legal suit that followed
on granted the killer just one year on a part-time imprisonment. There is a legal suit on
me. I am waiting to see what is going to happen.
MANOEL MARTINS (mining company neighbor) – It seems... well it is more than just
“seems”, they have been urged to keep their mouths shut. It is the only explanation.
JOÃO ARAÚJO DE OLIVEIRA (goldsmith) – Paracatu reminds us of a colony from
the times the Portuguese first came in. People from nowhere would come by and take
away what they pleased. They leave nothing behind for us here.
MARCIANO DA CRUZ DOS REIS (mining company neighbor) – It is like that here!
Outsiders come in, manage a life of their own and then go away. Where are the mayors?
The bossing people, where are they? I wonder if they are not sharing partners!
Mayor – I know the Legal Right and Reason are all yours.
RÔNIA MARIANO (mining company neighbor) – They do not care about the people.
They care about their pockets. Most unfortunately this is the picture of national politics,
true to Paractu too.
ANÍSIO JOSÉ DE CARVALHO (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – The
City Hall has no interest to find out anything. It is interested on getting their share,
whatever they already earning.
MARCIANO DA CRUZ DOS REIS (mining company neighbor) – We are kept with
our fingers to suck. The outsiders come in, sweep the profits and we are left with our
fingers to suck.
MÁRCIA LOPES OLIVEIRA (“garimpeiro” widow) – Authorities act coldly. All act
alike and nobody did anything. Everybody kept their mouths shut because all of them
fear RPM, because RPM has got the money we do not have. You can go as far as to the
top of the ladder and you get a “NO”, they tell you RPM has got the money. Then
everybody keeps their mouths shut, say nothing and retreat.
URUBATAN DOS SANTOS (mining company neighbor) – It is for the young people of
this generation to take some action NOW!
PAULO MAURICIO SERRANO NEVES (Goiás State Criminal Prosecutor) – We run
the risk of being hated by this generation.
JOSÉ DO CARMO SOBRINHO (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – They
are going to point their fingers to us, to the older generation.
JOSÉ DO CARMO SOBRINHO (a land user who lives next to the tailings dam) – We
are the ones to be blamed for giving it all away to the outsiders.
RONIA MARIANO (a mining company land user) – It is the Power of Money. Have
you heard about this Power?
PAULO MAURICIO SERRANO NEVES (Goiás State Criminal Prosecutor) – Truth is:
we are preventing our children, our young to participate at the construction of their own
future. The people have the legal right to have this mining company to answer in an
absolutely clear way, to tranquilize everybody, that nobody has been contaminated.
They have to corroborate that there is no soil or environment irradiated contamination,
that there is no risk of the dam cracking down... they have to say it over and over.