Brazil revokes Amazon reserve mining decree

Faced with opposition by the courts and a public outcry, the government of Brazil has officially cancelled plans to open up a vast natural reserve in the Amazon to commercial mining.

President Michel Temer of Brazil signed a decree in August which saw the protected area known as the National Reserve of Copper and Associates opened up to commercial mining, but was vehemently condemned from the get-go by activists and celebrities who believed the area would suffer badly.

Following the criticism, the government amended the decree in order to bar mining in conservation or indigenous areas within the 46,000sq km large reserve straddling the northern states of Amapa and Para.

With a size larger than that of Denmark, the reserve was thought to be rich in gold, iron and manganese and other minerals.

Yet even then, a later court order was issued requiring that the Brazilian Congress be consulted first before any change was made to the reserve's status, finally leading Brasilia to bin the decree altogether.