Rumors of a gold discovery recently spread through parts of Brazil, attracting hundreds of wildcat gold miners to the Madeira River in the Brazilian Amazon. Lashing their floating dredges together in broad rafts, the illegal mining operations have been active for weeks, sucking silt and mud from the river bottom to be processed, while environmentalists and officials sound alarms. On November 28, officers with the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) seized and set fire to more than 60 of the dredges in an effort to stop the mining, and most of the remaining vessels have reportedly dispersed.
A Crackdown on Illegal Gold Dredging in Brazil
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![An aerial view shows dozens of dredging rafts lashed together in several lines, floating on a large river.]()
Read moreAn aerial view shows dozens of dredging rafts operated by miners who have gathered illegally in a gold rush on the Madeira, a major tributary of the Amazon River, in Autazes, Amazonas state, Brazil, on November 23, 2021. #
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![A half-dozen floating dredges operate in muddy river water.]()
Read morePumped river water flows off the back of several illegal gold-dredging rafts on the Madeira River, on November 23, 2021. #
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![Several dredging barges in operation, with river water flowing down wide sloping ramps]()
Read moreGerivaldo de Carvalho works on his dredging barge, searching for gold, on November 25, 2021. #
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![A person holds a shallow pan with some muddy water and flecks of gold in it.]()
Read moreA miner shows gold illegally extracted from the Madeira River on November 25, 2021. #
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![People sit on a barge that is outfitted with a large hose.]()
Read moreGold miners sit on an illegal dredging barge on the Madeira River in Nova Olinda, Brazil, on November 26, 2021. #
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![Hundreds of barges float in lines in the middle of a large river.]()
Read moreIllegal dredging barges operated converge on the Madeira River in Autazes, Amazonas state, Brazil, on November 25, 2021. #
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![A view of about nine of the many dredging barges floating on a river]()
Read moreA view of some of the dredging barges in operation, seen on November 25, 2021 #
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![People monitor the river water washing through a sluice box.]()
Read moreGold miners work illegally on the Madeira River in Autazes on November 25, 2021. #
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![A person holds a pan with a small amount of liquid mercury in it.]()
Read moreA gold miner works with mercury to gather all of the smallest bits of gold in Nova Olinda, Brazil, on November 26, 2021. #
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![A person sits among belongings on a dredging barge.]()
Read moreJoão Leonir is photographed on his dredging barge in Nova Olinda on November 26, 2021. #
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![A dog perches on the railing of a vessel beside a dredge in operation.]()
Read moreA dog perches on the railing of a vessel on the Madeira River, as gold mining takes place on November 25, 2021. #
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![A person uses a large power drill to stir river water inside an open barrel.]()
Read moreA miner works to extract gold he found in the Madeira River on November 26, 2021. #
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![A person uses their phone to photograph a small canister with a small amount of gold inside.]()
Read moreA miner takes a photo of gold illegally extracted from the river in Nova Olinda, Brazil, on November 26, 2021. #
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![An aerial view of dozens of floating barges]()
Read moreDredging barges illegally operated by miners converge on the Madeira river on November 25, 2021. #
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![Black smoke rises from two burning barges on a river shoreline.]()
Read moreTwo barges burn onshore, after being set ablaze by IBAMA officers during an operation to contain illegal gold mining on the Madeira River, in Borba, Brazil, on November 28, 2021. #
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![Several police officers stand on a small motor boat in a river.]()
Read moreA Federal Police motor boat patrols the river after more than 60 dredging barges were set on fire by IBAMA officers on November 28, 2021. #
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![A burning two-story dredging barge floats in a river.]()
Read moreOne of the more than 60 dredging barges that were burned by IBAMA is set adrift on the Madeira River on November 28, 2021. #
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![People watch a burning barge on a river shore.]()
Read moreMiners watch as their illegal dredging barges burn in Borba on November 28, 2021. #
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![A small group of people with some belongings stand and sit on a river shore.]()
Read moreMembers of a family of gold miners shout from the shore after their illegal dredging barge was set ablaze by IBAMA officers on November 28, 2021. #
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![People gather on a terrace above barges docked on a river shore, with a banner below them that reads "Gold miners are not bandits; they are workers" in Portuguese.]()
Read moreMiners display a banner that reads, in Portuguese,"Gold miners are not bandits; they are workers," after more than 60 illegal dredging barges were set on fire on November 28, 2021. #
Edmar Barros / AP -
![A person standing waist-deep in a river throws water on a burning barge.]()
Read moreA miner throws water on one of the more than 60 illegal dredging barges that were set on fire on November 28, 2021. #
Edmar Barros / AP -
![A burning barge sends a column of black smoke into the air.]()
Read moreAn illegal gold-mining barge that was set on fire by IBAMA officers sends black smoke into the air above the Madeira River in Borba, Brazil, on November 28, 2021. #
Edmar Barros / AP -
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