According to the Yanomami, illegal mining on their land has expanded by 30% in the last year, devastating the equivalent of 500 hectares. Ever since gold deposits were first discovered, illegal gold mining has thrived, and with it, a desire to strike it rich. The Yanomami reserve sits deep in the vast and dense Amazon rainforest, and finding illegal miners becomes a game of cat and mouse. One of the illegal miners tells the police: "Life is hard. Despite the evidence of illegal gold mining all around them, the federal police and army don't make any arrests and simply burn the miners' equipment.

Source: CNN July 19, 2021 11:44 UTC