"Gold Prospectors In Northern Brazil Are Destroying Amazon Rivers-Activity has been the economic backbone in the Tapajós basin for sixty years, but the use of backhoes are worsening silting and deforestation", 18 Sept 2018
...Gold mining has been part of the region's economy since the 1950s, but the activity suffered a revolution lately, with the introduction of hydraulic backhoes, machines with a destruction power several times larger than previous methods. "After illegal logging, gold prospecting is the biggest cause of the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. It's a environmental, social and moral destruction. It's organized crime taking possession of Brazilian riches," says Luciano Evaristo, director of environmental protection at Ibama, Brazil's environmental government agency. The damage is happening especially in the tributaries of Tapajós river,...Amazon...For the mundurucus, the residents of Tapajós' margins, the changes are visible. "Before the water was bright blue, very clean. Now it's a different color, yellowish. You can't catch fish with an arrow and bow anymore because you can't see them," says chieftain Juarez Saw Munduruku, 58, who opposed the gold mines...Gold prospector, rancher, builder, and former logger, Itaituba's mayor, Valmir Climaco (MDB) is one of the biggest advocates for gold prospecting. He assures that once the mining is done, nature takes charge and regenerates itself...