Mining Weekly

Munduruku Indians from the Amazon basin lie on the street in Brasilia after a week-long occupation of the Belo Monte dam, on the Xingu river, where a hydroelectric power plant is planned to help satisfy demand for electricity in Brazil. It is feared that the dam could result in the displacement of thousands of people. Air Force planes flew 144 Munduruku to Brasilia for talks with government. The planned 11 233 MW capacity would give Brazil its second-largest hydro- electric project and the world’s third-largest in terms of installed capacity, after the Three Gorges dam, in China, and the Brazilian-Paraguayan Itaipu dam. The plan is for transmission lines to distribute the power throughout the country to enhance energy security.