Actor DiCaprio fights Belo Sun’s $300M Brazil mine

Leonardo DiCaprio has thrown his support behind opponents of Belo Sun Mining’s (TSX: BSX) proposed $300-million Volta Grande gold project in Brazil, adding a high-profile voice to a long-running battle over permits and Indigenous consultation.

The actor and environmental activist criticized the proposed open-pit mine in Pará state on his social media accounts last week, warning of potential damage to the Xingu River region and communities that depend on it.

His intervention comes as Brazil’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office asks the Supreme Court to suspend a February ruling that reinstated Belo Sun’s installation licence. The company says it has satisfied the requirements imposed on the project and that the licence remains valid.

Volta Grande, which Belo Sun aims to develop as Brazil’s largest open-pit gold mine, has faced permitting disputes involving Indigenous communities for more than a decade.

DiCaprio weighs in

DiCaprio has a long history of supporting environmental and Indigenous causes in the Amazon and elsewhere.

He first visited Brazil’s Xingu Indigenous Park in 2004 and later co-founded conservation group Re. He has also maintained ties with prominent Indigenous leader Chief Raoni Metuktire.

His latest intervention followed an event during New York Climate Week calling for the Volta Grande project to be stopped.

“Listen to the Indigenous communities that are saying no to this project,” Indigenous activist and filmmaker Juma Xipaya said at the event, accaording to Brazilian news outlet g1. “We learned to listen to the forest. It teaches us. And that’s why we know how to maintain the global climate: by stopping projects like Belo Sun’s.”

DiCaprio shared footage from the event and urged his followers to listen to Indigenous communities opposed to the mine.

Permit battle

The more immediate hurdle for Belo Sun is a case before Brazil’s Supreme Court involving its installation licence.

The Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region reinstated the licence in February after finding Belo Sun had demonstrated compliance with judicial requirements, including completion of an Indigenous Component Study and consultation under the applicable protocol.

Pará state subsequently reissued the licence in April. The permit, which remains in effect, is valid until April 2029.

The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office is asking the Supreme Court to suspend the February ruling while the underlying civil case proceeds, and to keep the suspension in place until a final, unappealable judgment is reached.

The dispute is the latest in a lengthy fight over Indigenous consultation at Volta Grande. A federal judge ruled as early as 2014 that Belo Sun had to complete an Indigenous study before advancing its permits, The Northern Miner reported.

In July, Belo Sun said a separate civil action over consultation with the Arara da Volta Grande and Juruna of Paquiçamba communities had been permanently dismissed. Another case filed that month seeks consultation with the Mebêngôkre-Xikrin people of the Trincheira Bacajá Indigenous Land.

Belo Sun said it has responded to the Supreme Court challenge and asked that the suspension request be denied.

Belo Sun responds

Belo Sun rejected claims made in the material shared by DiCaprio, telling g1 that the project isn’t located on demarcated Indigenous lands and has undergone more than a decade of technical, environmental and social studies.

The company said it conducted an Indigenous Component Study and free, prior and informed consultations involving the Paquiçamba and Arara da Volta Grande do Xingu Indigenous territories.

Belo Sun also said Indigenous communities had formally acknowledged the consultations and studies and expressed support for the project’s licences.

The company argues Volta Grande would bring jobs, training, municipal revenues and investment in infrastructure and social programs to the surrounding region.

The Supreme Court challenge adds another layer of uncertainty to a project that has spent years navigating legal and regulatory disputes in Brazil.