Gold fever in the Amazon - by Douglas Engle

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A man weighs gold during a sale near an open-air gold mine, about 80km from Apui in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, Feb. 1, 2007. Thousands of people have created a virtually instant town in the remote Amazon forest to dig for gold in the region, discovered in Dec. 2006. The environment is not much of a concern as trees are felled and pits are dug by people from all over Brazil and from all walks of life. Most simply say that some deforestation in the immense amazon it is the price to pay...
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A man weighs gold during a sale near an open-air gold mine, about 80km from Apui in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, Feb. 1, 2007. Thousands of people have created a virtually instant town in the remote Amazon forest to dig for gold in the region, discovered in Dec. 2006. The environment is not much of a concern as trees are felled and pits are dug by people from all over Brazil and from all walks of life. Most simply say that some deforestation in the immense amazon it is the price to pay for Brazilians to exploit their nation's riches. (FOTO:DOUGLAS ENGLE/AUSTRAL FOTO)
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