"Elon Musk’s Starlink linked to illegal mining in Brazil"

"Perhaps not even the biggest Elon Musk detractors could have imagined one of his ventures being linked to unethical mining.\r\n\r\nReports this week by\u00a0 The Associated Press \u00a0revealed that illegal gold miners in Brazil\u2019s Amazon have been using Musk\u2019s Starlink high-speed internet technology as a novel tool for illicit operations.\r\n\r\nLaunched in 2019 as a division of SpaceX, Starlink is a low latency, broadband internet system\u00a0consisting of nearly 3,600 low-orbit satellites\u00a0that aims to connect the underserved areas of the planet with the rest of the world.\r\n\r\nIn Brazil, this technology was made available last January as part of a government-led project to serve schools in rural areas and monitor the Amazon rainforest. While that project has failed to gain traction, the use of Starlink has only grown across a region populated by illegal mining groups, according to reports.\r\n\r\nIllegal miners have long relied on internet as a means for communication, but the logistics involved in setup and the luck needed for it to work without getting caught by law enforcement, would have been a gamble. So Musk\u2019s Starlink may have been seen as a safer bet.\r\n\r\nIn a federal raid on an illegal mining site Tuesday, agents from the Brazilian environment agency\u2019s special inspection group and the federal highway police rapid response group found one Starlink terminal up and running next to a pit,\u00a0 Associated Press\u00a0 reported.\r\n\r\nApart from the Starlink terminal, some mercury, less than an ounce of gold, camping and storage units among other mining and transportation equipment were reportedly seized.\r\n\r\nThe SpaceX-operated satellite is able to provide fast, stable internet service for coordinating logistics, receiving warning of raids, and making payments without having to fly to a city. The equipment is also easy to install and transport, making it the perfect tool for mining the Amazon.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe benefits of connectivity were immediately apparent to bad actors in the Amazon,\u201d Hugo Loss, operations coordinator for IBAMA, Brazil\u2019s environment agency, told the\u00a0 Associated Press .\r\n\r\n\u201cThis technology is extremely fast and really improves the ability to manage an illegal mine. You can manage hundreds of mining sites without ever setting foot in one,\u201d he told\u00a0 AP. \r\n\r\nWhen he took officer earlier this year, Brazil President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva\u00a0 vowed to crack down \u00a0on illegal mining in the country, in particular Yanomami land, its largest Indigenous territory. In recent years, it is estimated that around 20,000 prospectors have contaminated the region\u2019s vital waterways with mercury used to separate gold, according to the\u00a0 AP .\r\n <img class=\"wp-image-1112800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/FoZ6V-FaUAAb52P.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/FoZ6V-FaUAAb52P.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/FoZ6V-FaUAAb52P-300x161.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/FoZ6V-FaUAAb52P-768x412.jpg 768w\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"483\" \/> Starlink is now available throughout Brazil. Credit: SpaceX \r\nOver the past five weeks, the nation\u2019s environment agency has seized seven Starlink terminals in Yanomami land, including the two during the recent raid, the agency\u2019s press office said in an emailed statement to\u00a0 AP .\r\n\r\n\u201cAn untold number of the highly portable Starlink terminals could have been taken with miners as they fled sites into the rainforest,\u201d it added.\r\n\r\nIBAMA told the\u00a0 AP\u00a0 via email that it, along with other federal bodies, is currently studying how to block Starlink\u2019s signal in illegal mining areas.\r\n\r\n\u201cThis measure is crucial to dismantling the logistics that sustain illegal mining in Indigenous territories,\u201d IBAMA\u2019s press office said.\r\n\r\nWhether any further action taken by Brazil\u2019s authorities remains to be seen. What\u2019s for certain is Starlink\u2019s presence in the Amazon is posing a big challenge to President Lula\u2019s mission to eradicate illegal mining."

"Elon Musk’s Starlink linked to illegal mining in Brazil"

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