Apple purchased gold from supplier linked to illegal mining in Brazil

AppleInsider

U.S. tech companies including Apple have reportedly been buying gold from suppliers that got it from illicit mining operations in Brazil.

The mining operations allegedly took place on Brazilian indigenous lands in the Amazon rainforest, which is prohibited in Brazil. Resource extraction is banned because it leads to deforestation and contaminates rivers with mercury.

The companies involved, including Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, reportedly purchased the gold in 2020 and 2021 from several refiners, including Chimet and Marsam. Both refiners are under investigation in Brazil for illegal sourcing and production.

The gold mined from the illegal sites were utilized for smartphone and computer production by both Apple and Microsoft, according to Reporter Brasil, first spotted by 9to5Mac. Additionally, some of the gold had been utilized in the production of servers for both Google and Amazon.

The original report notes that in addition to pollution and deforestation, the illegal operations also result in increased organized crime. Armed attacks on indigenous people have risen significantly in recent years. An estimated 28% of gold extracted in Brazil is done so illegally.

When approached for comment, Apple first pointed the publication to its environmental statement. It later sent a note stating that they no longer purchase gold from Marsam.

It is unclear what Apple's current relationship with Chimet is. Also not clear is if Amazon, Google, or Microsoft did anything as it pertains to the suppliers after being informed of the source of the gold.

In recent years, Apple has come under fire for supplier behavior in its supply chain. In 2021, Apple was in hot water when a report exposed potential ties between Apple suppliers and forced labor programs suspected of being part of an alleged Chinese genocide against Uyghurs.

In 2020, the Cupertino tech company severed ties with iPhone camera module supplier O-film after learning the company had been using forced labor.


Read on AppleInsider

rob53

And does anyone think any other corporation hasn’t bought things from illegal companies? That’s the way companies and governments work (behind the scenes).

wood1208

Biggest problem with America is they screw themselves in the name of whatever(fairness, human abuse, child labor, illegal mining, world policing, helping world, etc). And Chinese don't give a damn to anything so they can easily compete with American companies at lower cost and take away share brick by brick. Chinese employ hacking, stealing, abusing and do whatever it takes to win. 
So, Americans please stop screwing your own people, your corporations and your future.

Anilu_777

wood1208 said:

Biggest problem with America is they screw themselves in the name of whatever(fairness, human abuse, child labor, illegal mining, world policing, helping world, etc). And Chinese don't give a damn to anything so they can easily compete with American companies at lower cost and take away share brick by brick. Chinese employ hacking, stealing, abusing and do whatever it takes to win. 
So, Americans please stop screwing your own people, your corporations and your future.

The Chinese and anyone else must pay serious penalties for abuse of labourers in their supply chains. It’s a good thing that at least some American companies care. 

chadbag

wood1208 said:

Biggest problem with America is they screw themselves in the name of whatever(fairness, human abuse, child labor, illegal mining, world policing, helping world, etc). And Chinese don't give a damn to anything so they can easily compete with American companies at lower cost and take away share brick by brick. Chinese employ hacking, stealing, abusing and do whatever it takes to win. 
So, Americans please stop screwing your own people, your corporations and your future.

I can’t believe you are actually advocating this.  The solution is to stop doing business with and enabling this sort of behavior from China and anyone else, not to lower you standards to theirs.  

davidw

wood1208 said:

Biggest problem with America is they screw themselves in the name of whatever(fairness, human abuse, child labor, illegal mining, world policing, helping world, etc). And Chinese don't give a damn to anything so they can easily compete with American companies at lower cost and take away share brick by brick. Chinese employ hacking, stealing, abusing and do whatever it takes to win. 
So, Americans please stop screwing your own people, your corporations and your future.

It's just not "America".
 
The last I checked, Italy have never been a part of "America", even though Columbus "discovered" it in 1492. 

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/illegal-brazil-gold-tied-italian-refiner-big-tech-customers-documents-2022-07-25/

>Brazilian police allege an Italian refiner purchased gold from a trader sourcing it illegally in the Amazon rainforest region, according to police documents, and corporate disclosures show that refiner has supplied the precious metal to four of the world's largest tech companies.<

And "America" declared their independence from Britain in 1776.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-latin-america-60236777

>The UK is the third biggest buyer of Brazilian gold, and public prosecutors have alleged that 30% of Brazil’s exports may be illegally mined.<

And it has only been several weeks ago, that Switzerland pledged not to purchase (any more) illegal gold from Brazil, even though it has been known for years that 30% of gold from Brazil are illegally mined.

https://earth5r.org/swiss-pledge-to-stop-illegal-gold-imports-from-brazil-indigenous-reserves/

>Switzerland imported 24.5 tonnes of gold in 2021, at least a fifth of which came from Brazilian Amazon states. Evidence indicates most of it is mined illegally on Indigenous lands. Illicit mining operations have resulted in major Amazon deforestation, widespread mercury poisoning and soaring violence.<

And since Canada, the largest importer of Brazilian gold, can be considered part of "America", as in North America, I won't hold that against you because of a technicality.  

crowley

rob53 said:

And does anyone think any other corporation hasn’t bought things from illegal companies? That’s the way companies and governments work (behind the scenes).

Some corporations don't need to buy gold, so you never know.  In any case, widespread abuse only amplifies the need to report on it, expose the hypocrisy and pressure such corporations to stop it.  

Paul_B

How on God's given Earth can mining be illegal.  You see land, you dig.  "YOU can't swim in the ocean" - said nobody.

crowley

Paul_B said:

How on God's given Earth can mining be illegal.  You see land, you dig.  "YOU can't swim in the ocean" - said nobody.

Dig on my land or cut down my trees and you get a knuckle sandwich and a lawsuit for dessert.

RonnyDaddy

davidw said:

wood1208 said:

Biggest problem with America is they screw themselves in the name of whatever(fairness, human abuse, child labor, illegal mining, world policing, helping world, etc). And Chinese don't give a damn to anything so they can easily compete with American companies at lower cost and take away share brick by brick. Chinese employ hacking, stealing, abusing and do whatever it takes to win. 
So, Americans please stop screwing your own people, your corporations and your future.

It's just not "America".
 
The last I checked, Italy have never been a part of "America", even though Columbus "discovered" it in 1492. 

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/illegal-brazil-gold-tied-italian-refiner-big-tech-customers-documents-2022-07-25/

>Brazilian police allege an Italian refiner purchased gold from a trader sourcing it illegally in the Amazon rainforest region, according to police documents, and corporate disclosures show that refiner has supplied the precious metal to four of the world's largest tech companies.<

And "America" declared their independence from Britain in 1776.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-latin-america-60236777

>The UK is the third biggest buyer of Brazilian gold, and public prosecutors have alleged that 30% of Brazil’s exports may be illegally mined.<

And it has only been several weeks ago, that Switzerland pledged not to purchase (any more) illegal gold from Brazil, even though it has been known for years that 30% of gold from Brazil are illegally mined.

https://earth5r.org/swiss-pledge-to-stop-illegal-gold-imports-from-brazil-indigenous-reserves/

>Switzerland imported 24.5 tonnes of gold in 2021, at least a fifth of which came from Brazilian Amazon states. Evidence indicates most of it is mined illegally on Indigenous lands. Illicit mining operations have resulted in major Amazon deforestation, widespread mercury poisoning and soaring violence.<

And since Canada, the largest importer of Brazilian gold, can be considered part of "America", as in North America, I won't hold that against you because of a technicality.  

America is a continent, right. Geography lesson 101.

DAalseth

The bad guys will try their damndest to slip it in. Apple, MS, and the rest can try to keep it out, and for the most part they do, but it's a constant battle. Apple has at least been on the forefront of taking strong action agains suppliers that are found to be breaking the rules. 

Paul_B said:

How on God's given Earth can mining be illegal.  You see land, you dig.  "YOU can't swim in the ocean" - said nobody.

Wow that's one of the silliest statements I've ever read. No you can't mine anywhere you want even if it's your own land. There are rules, there are restrictions, your wastwater and tailings have to be disposed of. Actually mining is one of the more tightly regulated industries. In this case it wasn't even their land. they literally murder the natives in the area and move in. 

And for what it's worth there are regularly no swimming warnings in the ocean due to pollution, red tides, etc. 

Cesar Battistini Maziero

That is why Brazil should legally mine this places!

Other countries are getting all the benefit of the illegal mining, while Brazil just spends money trying to combat that.

If the mining was legal, we would get taxes, more safety at the region, and a better life for the local community.

DAalseth

Cesar Battistini Maziero said:

That is why Brazil should legally mine this places!

Other countries are getting all the benefit of the illegal mining, while Brazil just spends money trying to combat that.

If the mining was legal, we would get taxes, more safety at the region, and a better life for the local community.

Yeah, there is a name for that.: Genocide. That land is reserved for the natives. It belongs to them. 

chadbag

Paul_B said:

How on God's given Earth can mining be illegal.  You see land, you dig.  "YOU can't swim in the ocean" - said nobody.

If the land is not yours then you shouldn’t be digging in it.   And you shouldn’t be swimming in someone else’s pool.  

“This Land is my Land, this Land is not yours,
I’ve got a shotgun, and you don’t got one,
I’ll blow your head off, if you don’t get off,
This land… is made for me alone”

To paraphrase a popular folk tune as sung (in this or similar forms) by kids all over.  

jcs2305

Paul_B said:

How on God's given Earth can mining be illegal.  You see land, you dig.  "YOU can't swim in the ocean" - said nobody.

The mining operations allegedly took place on Brazilian indigenous lands in the Amazon rainforest, which is prohibited in Brazil. Resource extraction is banned because it leads to deforestation and contaminates rivers with mercury.