Some of the world's largest companies, such as Amazon and Disney, count among their suppliers a mining company that was the target of a Federal Police (PF) operation against illegal mining in the Yanomami Indigenous Land.
The Yanomami people are experiencing a humanitarian crisis due to the activities of gold miners and organized crime in their territory, located between the states of Roraima and Amazonas.
The company investigated by the PF is White Solder Metallurgy and Mining, a major global tin producer.
According to the company's website, it operates "across the entire tin production chain, from cassiterite mining to solder manufacturing." The Yanomami territory is rich in cassiterite, which yields tin.
White Solder was the target of Operation Forja de Hefesto in December 2023, as it appeared in records as the destination for R$ 166 million in cassiterite acquired from the Cooperative of Tin Producers of Brazil, which acts as an intermediary for a supposed criminal organization involved in illegal ore extraction in the Yanomami Indigenous Land.
White Solder was contacted. The report was informed that a company representative would comment on the case, which did not happen. Disney chose not to comment on the matter. Amazon initially stated that the responsible department would provide information to Folha, but there was no response from the company after contact.
Starbucks stated that it "is committed to ethical sourcing in its supply chain and has no active contracts" with White Solder.