In Brazil’s Jequitinhonha valley, communities share how to reduce lithium mining impacts

In Brazil’s Jequitinhonha valley, communities share how to reduce lithium mining impacts

ARAÇUAÍ, Brazil — It’s a sunny, cloudless morning in the Poço Dantas when a sudden loud blow shakes the ground of Maria Aparecida’s* house. A few kilometers away, a cloud of dust coats the horizon, and the air smells of explosives. Almost a minute goes by before the distant sound of a siren becomes discernible. Since 2023, the roughly 70 brick houses of this 150-year-old village in Brazil’s southeastern state of Minas Gerais have been experienci…