Launched in 2019 as a division of SpaceX, Starlink is a low latency, broadband internet system consisting of nearly 3,600 low-orbit satellites that aims to connect the underserved areas of the planet with the rest of the world.
In Brazil, this technology was made available last January as part of a government-led project to serve schools in rural areas and monitor the Amazon rainforest. While that project has failed to gain traction, the use of Starlink has only grown across a region populated by illegal mining groups, according to reports.
Illegal miners have long relied on internet as a means for communication, but the logistics involved in setup and the luck needed for it to work without getting caught by law enforcement, would have been a gamble. So Musk’s Starlink may have been seen as a safer bet.
In a federal raid on an illegal mining site Tuesday, agents from the Brazilian environment agency’s special inspection group and the federal highway police rapid response group found one Starlink terminal up and running next to a pit, Associated Press reported.
Apart from the Starlink terminal, some mercury, less than an ounce of gold, camping and storage units among other mining and transportation equipment were reportedly seized.
The SpaceX-operated satellite is able to provide fast, stable internet service for coordinating logistics, receiving warning of raids, and making payments without having to fly to a city. The equipment is also easy to install and transport, making it the perfect tool for mining the Amazon.
“The benefits of connectivity were immediately apparent to bad actors in the Amazon,” Hugo Loss, operations coordinator for IBAMA, Brazil’s environment agency, told the Associated Press.
“This technology is extremely fast and really improves the ability to manage an illegal mine. You can manage hundreds of mining sites without ever setting foot in one,” he told AP.
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