Goldminers overrun Amazon indigenous lands as COVID-19 surges

“Deforestation by illegal mining in the Amazon is smaller [in area] compared to deforestation by clear cutting [usually done to clear property for illegal sale as cattle pasture or croplands], but that does not mean that the environmental impacts are insignificant. Ore prospecting, especially for gold, negatively affects the food chain, indigenous peoples’ lives and rivers’ health, polluting them with mercury and other highly toxic substances,” Carol Marçal, a forest campaigner at Greenpeace Brazil, told Mongabay.