In an operation that lasted a couple of days and that involved four airplanes, police officials, forest rangers and the National Guard, Brazilian authorities dismantled a number of open-pit gold and cassiterite mines operating illegally in the heart of the Amazon.
The unregulated mine sites were installed in Jamanxim and R?-o Novo National Parks, located in the northern Par?? state and which extend for 862,000 and 538,000 hectares respectively. A $200,000-shotgun, eight hydraulic excavators, four motor pumps and other equipment were seized and destroyed. The miners' campsites were also dismantled.
According to official information, illegal mining in the remote area generates profits of at least $120,000 per month from the sale of 1 kilogram of gold.