The quality of life in remote mining communities in the Brazilian Amazon is examined in a presentation by Silvana Costa, a University of British Columbia mining PhD candidate. The three communities examined are Nucleo Urbano de Carajás, Parauapebas, and Canaã dos Carajás, all of which are close to CVRD mine operations. The quality of life in each community was studied through interviews with residents, most of them CVRD employees, and through survey questionnaires. Ms. Costa attempts to answer the following research questions:

  1. What are the main factors that appear to impact quality of life in remote mining communities?
  2. How are these factors affecting perceived quality of life in Canaã dos Carajás, Parauapebas and Nucleo Urbano de Carajás?
  3. How do these communities’ characteristics impact perceived quality of life?

Also take a look at the paper by Ms. Costa and Dr. Malcolm Scoble, Head of the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining at UBC, where they talk about mine accommodation strategies in several mining communities in Brazil, Peru and Argentina.