The Reuters photographer Bruno Kelly recently traveled deep into the Amazon rainforest, accompanying agents of Brazil’s environmental agency as they ventured into the Yanomami territory to combat rampant illegal gold mining. The 23.5-million-acre Yanomami territory has been plagued by illegal mining for decades, as prospectors continue to cut down trees, tear up hillsides, and poison rivers with mercury in their search for gold.
Cracking Down on Illegal Gold Mining in the Amazon
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A gold prospector is detained by agents of Brazil’s environmental agency on the Uraricoera River during an operation against illegal gold mining on indigenous land, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, in Roraima state, Brazil, on April 15, 2016. #
Bruno Kelly / Reuters -
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An agent of Brazil’s environmental agency detains a gold prospector who works as a diver in the illegal gold dredge on the shores of Uraricoera River on April 15, 2016. #
Bruno Kelly / Reuters -
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