World Wildlife Fund

© Zig Koch

Our boats now loaded and ready for departure, it is time to push on in search of an illicit gold mining operation. A touch of the outboard motors puts us beyond the reach of the falls and we find ourselves in deceptively calm waters again. Heading downriver there would be virtually no sign or sound to hint at the sudden drop.
 
The early sun breaks through the morning haze with a fierce heat. Here the forest is lower and brushier than we have seen earlier. The underlying metamorphic rock or gnaisse, some 2 billion years old, has changed as we have moved upriver.
 
The fleeting form of a jaguar is spotted on the riverbank. Lounging on a small rock island and unbothered by our loud intrusion are three large capybaras that slowly ease into the water and swim placidly to the mainland, unaware of the jaguar that may be lying in wait.
 
Using mapped coordinates from a previous flyover, Cristoph and his team hope to encounter a riverside access point to an active gold mining operation operating with the park's boundaries. Small-scale gold mining is a widespread, unregulated, and dirty activity in many areas of the Amazon affecting water quality, human health and the environment. The allure of the trade is very much alive and, while the miners are not necessarily bad actors, their actions are for the most part illegal and their activity is contaminating pristine environments.
 
Skirting the river's edge along a narrow channel, we soon spy the telltale signs of the gold miners - old pumps and compressors, rusted tools, and fishing gear strewn about a clearing and a trail heading inland. The place has a musty and abandoned feel to it but we know this is not the case. The mine is active and, while few such operations exist in this sector of the park, the park hopes to ease them out. The plan is for Cristoph and several of the unarmed crew members to hike in ahead of the rest of us so as not to panic the miners or give cause for any trigger happy individuals to start taking potshots. Sergeant Rene is not happy about being left behind but reluctantly gives in.
 
The first party moves off and, after 20 minutes of anxious waiting, we follow. The well worn trail takes us through a beautiful old-growth forest full of gigantic Angelin trees. Shortly ahead we meet up with the vanguard who have been greeted by one of the miners calmly talking to them with rifle in hand. News of the expedition, which was publicized in the mining center of Laranjal do Jari, has reached the miners through their efficient radio communications network and they have been awaiting our arrival for several days.
 
This mine started out as a small panning operation in the 1950's. With changes in technology, there has been more intensive hydraulic mining on and off over the past twenty years. We walk through a sterile moonscape along a small stream bed that has been blasted apart by the powerful pumps and hoses. The miners commonly excavate such areas to get at the gold ore, in the process destroying everything and sending tons of mercury laced sediments downstream. Mercury becomes concentrated in tissue as it moves up the food chain, an impending health problem for wildlife and humans.
 
We are told that ten people have been working the area supported with a comfortable two-story house surrounded by cashew trees, an extensive garden, and a well-tended airstrip that serves as the primary link to the outside world. A pack of spirited hunting dogs eyes us warily as we chat with several of the miners. They indicate to the park's team that they know they are within the national park and have ceased operating the mine while looking for a new area to exploit outside park and indigenous land borders. We are skeptical but Cristoph leaves confident that he now has sufficient information to permanently close the operation down.
 
The economics of the mining operation are questionable. In order to call in a flight bringing needed supplies, the miners must pay 77 grams of gold to the pilot (about US $750). They also send about $250 per week in royalties to the "owner." The mine is said to produce 100 grams per week, leaving a seemingly paltry income to the workers. We watch as one of the miners places a small amount of gold on a balance scale. It is a curious sensation to see this tiny mound of gold flakes out here in the middle of nowhere and to reflect on the great history of turmoil and violence it has produced.
 
The second jaguar spotted today, this one a black panther, glides across the trail on our return to the boats and melts into the brush. The miners have constructed several hunting blinds near the trail, another unwelcome reminder of the impact they are having within the park.
 
We rejoin the rest of the team who have made camp upriver. The late afternoon brings a patchwork sky. A high, fast moving rain cloud throws a shimmering, twisting lasso of heavy water droplets toward the rocks where we are having a swim. We stand transfixed, necks craned skyward as this spellbinding trick of nature spins overhead, then explodes all around, pelting down hard on the river. Rays of sunlight dance ahead of the oncoming storm.
 
Learn more about WWF's ARPA project - a giant step to protect the Amazon forest