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The Transamazonica Highway cuts through the Amazon rainforest and links Eldorado Do Juma with the rest of the world. 3/4 of all forest clearings in the Amazon are within 30 kilometer of a public road, but rivers are also widely used as…

A venomous snake has entered the dance floor. Nature is one of the major loser of the gold fever: Pristine rainforest is being cleared and rivers put to death by toxics such as mercury and also contamination.

When Eldorado do Juma was at its peak, 300-400 kilos of gold was extracted every week. At that time, around eight thousand garimpeiros - gold prospectors - worked in the mine. And even considering the significant cut to the patrones, the earnings of…

Alves do Silva is showing his gold teeth. Gold he found himself. He's been working as a garimpeiro for about 30 years.

A child in a bar that also serves as brothel. Most garimpeiros live a solitary life far away from their family. They are always on the move to the next big gold rush. Some occasionally send money back home, while many others has lost all contact.…

Angela is working as a prostitute in Apuí, the nearest village and supply center to the gold mine. The standard price paid to prostitutes is equal one gram of gold (about 18 euro).

With a small group of comrades Francisco is digging a tunnel into the mountain. So far it's only 15 meters deep, but it's a hot, dangerous and manual work so it takes time.

A garimpiero - the brazilian name for a gold prospector - was cut by a machete and later contracted an infection in his finger.

Driven by the gold fever Venicius Perfira de Sousa came to Eldorado do Juma from the neighbouring state Rondonia almost 50 days ago. At this point he still hasn't earned anything.

Piece by piece will every hill and rock, no matter the size, be washed apart with a fire hose until it all turns into a thick slurry. The slurry is then filtered, strained and washed with mercury. And since gold is the heaviest metal it will…