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Article

14 Feb 2014

Author:
Survival International

Operation targets illegal gold-miners in Yanomami’s rainforest [Brazil]

The Brazilian authorities have launched…[‘Operation Korekore’]…to combat illegal gold-mining on the land of the Yanomami tribe…set to last 30 days and…to arrest approximately 200 illegal miners who are operating in one part of the tribe’s territory. The operation…has…destroyed at least 20 illegal mining rafts and one airplane landing strip...The Yanomami live in the Amazonian rainforest in northern Brazil and southern Venezuela. They depend on their forest for food and shelter and have voiced their outrage at the miners’ invasion…despite the Yanomami’s appeals, many miners continue to operate on their land, destroying the forest and polluting the rivers with mercury. The uncontacted Yanomami are particularly vulnerable to the diseases transmitted by the miners…For decades, the Yanomami have been exposed to violence at the hands of illegal miners…