garimpeireo

mining

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Last updated

July 17, 2026

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The term garimpeiro refers to a type of miner, particularly those involved in gold mining in Brazil. In the 1980s, a significant gold rush occurred in the Amazon, attracting up to half a million garimpeiros who used basic tools like picks, shovels, and sluice boxes to search for gold in alluvial deposits.1

This mining activity, especially gold extraction using mercury, has had severe environmental consequences. The mercury used contaminates rivers, making fish unsafe to eat and leading to health issues among local populations, particularly those who consume large amounts of fish.1

Panning, a simple method of separating heavier particles like gold from soil or gravel using water, is a key technique for individual prospectors in placer deposits. While effective, it is labor-intensive work.2

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Brazil
Mining and quarrying
…where tens of thousands of garimpeiros swarmed during gold rushes in the 1980s and ’90s. Minas Gerais, Bahia, and Espírito Santo are the major sources of Brazil’s enormous range of gems—topazes, amethysts, opals, aquamarines, tourmalines, emeralds, and others—that make Brazil a world leader in precious and semiprecious stones.
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…where tens of thousands of garimpeiros swarmed during gold rushes in the 1980s and ’90s. Minas Gerais, Bahia, and Espírito Santo are the major sources of Brazil’s enormous range of gems—topazes, amethysts, opals, aquamarines, tourmalines, emeralds, and others—that make Brazil a world leader in precious and semiprecious stones.
Read More

Amazon River
Mining and energy
…half million transient miners (garimpeireos) came equipped with picks, shovels, and sluice boxes to search for the mineral in the alluvial deposits of the Tocantins valley at Serra Pelada. Brazil’s annual production peaked in 1987 but declined thereafter. Large amounts of the mercury used to extract the gold were…
Read More
…half million transient miners (garimpeireos) came equipped with picks, shovels, and sluice boxes to search for the mineral in the alluvial deposits of the Tocantins valley at Serra Pelada. Brazil’s annual production peaked in 1987 but declined thereafter. Large amounts of the mercury used to extract the gold were…
Read More