Analysis of landscape changes in Craíbas-AL due to Mineração Vale Verde installation processes

Abstract

The landscape is the materialization of a moment in society and is formed by volumes, colors, movements, odors, sounds, etc., In other words, it encompasses everything perceptible through the human senses. Economic, social, and political factors, among others, influenced changes in the landscape. Mineral exploration is one example of this type of factor. Since mining companies can bring about noticeable changes in municipalities, it is necessary to observe, analyze, and document any alterations that occur from the beginning of the installation processes. In 2007, the Serrote da Laje Project was started, located in the municipalities of Craíbas-AL and Arapiraca-AL, and developed by Mineração Vale Verde (MVV) to extract copper ore. This paper aims to show changes in the landscape of Craíbas by using historical satellite images (using the Google Earth Pro tool) and statistical analysis of the flow of vehicles. The paper aims to understand the relationship between these changes with the installation of the Serrote da Laje Project. The results show a significant visual alteration in the landscape, comparing the satellite images of two distinct epochs. The analysis of the vehicle flow showed a significant alteration, revealing considerable contributions of the referred enterprise in the alteration of the municipality landscape.