The impact of gold mining on regional development in Brazil

Abstract

The mining industry plays a vital role in the economy of some Brazilian states. This research aims to evaluate the degree of influence of mining activity on the human development index (HDI) and the gross domestic product (GDP) in the Brazilian states of Bahia, Goiás, Minas Gerais, and Pará. The data used in the calculations were extracted from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics database from 2010 to 2020. Using the Pearson correlation method, we analyzed the impact of the mining economic activity on the regional income and HDI. The results showed a low correlation between gold mining production and HDI and GDP per capita indices of the states studied. It was found that Bahia State presented slight correlation rates (61.39% and 60.76%) for HDI and GDP per capita, respectively. The rates presented for the other states were below 35.00%, suggesting that mining activity does not influence the regional development of Goiás, Minas Gerais, and Pará. We concluded from the gold mining data that the mining industry did not impact regional development in the studied ten-year range. Further analysis should be carried out to verify the cost-benefit of gold mining, considering the environmental cost of mining activity.