The mining economy and its urban impacts: challenges and contradictions in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to discuss, from a theoretical and empirical point of view, the regional and local impacts of mining activities. First, by taking the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte as the object of study, the economic effects of mining are analyzed, in particular during the 2000’s commodity boom on exports and tax revenues. In a second moment, the local impacts of mining activity are verified, especially the conflicts with water resources and transport routes. Thus, it is expected that the study could evaluate the main dimensions of the impacts of the mining activity. From such a analysis, one can concluded that, because of its extensive effects, the management of mining territories must go beyond the local level in order to include the metropolitan dimension of the activity.