Case studies: Brazil

Mining operations serve to protect endangered species in Brazil

All AngloGold Ashanti operations in Brazil are located in the ecologically sensitive and important Cerrado or Atlantic Forest ecosystems. Ironically, the most significant geological area (from a mining perspective) in Brazil, the Iron Quadrangle, is entirely located within these biomes, resulting in strong pressures for competing land use.

A recent published study by Biodiversitas – a Brazilian environmental NGO – pointed to an increased number of species (fauna and flora) still under extinction pressure within these biomes. Thus, preserving large areas of these ecosystems has been one way in which mining companies have been able to work with the regulatory authorities in reaching a balance between mining activities on the one hand and the preservation of fauna and flora on the other.

In fact, 13 years after Brazil having signed up for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD – which has the conservation of biological diversity as a goal, along with the sustainable development of its components) AngloGold Ashanti continues to play a leading role in the implementation of CBD policy, and has been instrumental in the establishment of two natural reserves over some 1,000 hectares in the past few years – the Samuel de Paula Natural Reserve in Nova Lima and the and AngloGold-Cuiaba Natural Reserve, located in Sabará.

Their significance from a biodiversity point of view has been confirmed following the completion, August 2007 of an in-depth biodiversity assessment for the Samuel de Paula Reserve conducted by a group of scientists from the Federal University of Brazil. Over a period of three years, 28 field campaigns were conducted.

Several fauna and flora species unique to these biomes were catalogued in the study. In some cases, several mammals and reptiles not seen for many years in the area, and some of which are on the endangered list, were captured, identified, and photographed. More than 73 fern and 435 angiosperm (flowering plants) species, were also catalogued inside the reserve. Among the flora species, nine of them are threatened with extinction.

The richness of the avifauna was confirmed by the number of birds identified within the reserves: among the 158 species catalogued, 64 were considered rare. Also, three birds found in the survey are listed as endangered, among them the Campephilus robustus or ‘robust woodpecker’.

An important finding of the study identified patches of preserved ecosystems within or in proximity to urban areas, which act as migratory corridors particularly for birds and small mammals. Other animals, have also now been identified within the reserve during the reproduction period.

AngloGold Ashanti has fully funded this research work, which has already generated both masters’ and doctoral dissertations on the subject. At the Cuiabá Reserve a more detailed study is underway and is expected to continue through the year into 2009.