Photo Gallery Gold Rush in the Amazon
As soon as news of the gold discovery spread, thousands of people headed to the Rio Juma to try their luck
This is one of the few women who made the trip to the Rio Juma. Most gold diggers are men.
One gold diggers presents his findings.
Like most others, this gold digger lives under a plastic roof.
Luciana Bibo, a mother of three, searches for gold in the muddy earth.
The gold diggers use quicksilver to separate the gold from worthless ore. The quicksilver is polluting the local rivers and causing severe environmental damage.
More than 40 square kilometers of rainforest have already been cut down.
The number of murders and shootings in the area has increased dramatically.
Notwithstanding the violence and crime that await them, or the risk of epidemics, some 6,000 people are already digging for gold by the Rio Juma.
