Cooperative principles and the small-scale mining culture: an analysis in the mineral cooperatives of Minas Gerais

Abstract

Small-scale mining has become an emblematic social reality in the history of Brazil and has become a latent public problem on the government's agenda due to the illegal and informal issue. As a form of solution, the State prioritized the cooperative model in the Permission of Mineral Prospector Mining, with Law n. 11.685 of 2008, which resulted in a significant increase in the constitution of mineral cooperatives. Cooperatives are collective organizations that prioritize self-management, cooperation, and respect for the environment and the community, different principles of individualism and conflicts that seem inherent to illegal mining activities. Within this supposed inconsistency, the following research problem arises: principles of cooperative doctrine apply to mineral prospector cooperatives? The objective of the work is to verify if the cooperative minerals of the state of Minas Gerais adhere to the principles proposed by the doctrine of cooperativism. To answer this question, 11 mineral cooperatives located in nine municipalities in the State of Minas Gerais were studied. We conducted semi-structured interviews with representatives of the cooperatives and the local government. The main findings indicate that the induction of mining prospector activity in cooperative organizations does not mean the promotion of cooperation or the application of the principles of cooperativism to mining prospector activity. The main conclusion is that mineral cooperatives show significant differences from other branches of cooperatives.