Informal gold mining

Aerial view of Esperanca IV informal gold mining camp, near Menkragnoti indigenous territory, in Brazil’s Amazon basin. There are more than 450 illegal mining sites in the Brazilian Amazon region. And dozens are on indigenous lands. Thousands of illegal miners called garimpeiros are digging for gold, tearing down forests, polluting rivers and encroaching on indigenous lands. Some of the activity in the region is legal. But each year, 30 tonnes of gold are illegally traded here. That represents $1.1 billion in undeclared funds - six times more than the legal amount traded.