In Brazil, the Portuguese started gold mining as soon as they had found the land in 1500. There have been two gold rushes in the Brazilian history. The first one started in the 17th century, and by the 18th century Brazil was the most important producer of gold and diamonds in the world. The economy changed from one based on agriculture to one dependent on mining. The Portuguese government didn’t allow the poor people to dig for gold, which caused illegal practices introducing the expression garimpeiros, ”those who hide”.

The second gold rush in Brazil started in the Amazon in the 1970s and continues to the present day. There are about a million gold miners working in the mines and they are called ”ants”, because they are so many, and they carry heavy loads.

Violence and accidents are everyday life in the camps and the mining causes great problems to the nature and the native people. Gold is being taken there where one finds it, so the garimpeiros even destroy whole villages to get their land.