Serra Pelada Gold Rush

[Corporate Investigations]

Here was a modern day gold rush

Serra Pelada (English: "Bald Mountain") was a large gold mine in Brazil 430 kilometres (270 mi) south of the mouth of the Amazon River. The mine was made famous by the images taken by Sebastião Salgado showing an anthill of workers moving vast amounts of ore by hand. Because of the chaotic nature of the operation estimating the number of miners was difficult, but at least 100,000 people were thought to be present, making it one of the largest mines in the world.

Today the Serra Pelada is abandoned and the giant open pit that was created by hand has filled with water, creating a small polluted lake. however that was not the end of legendary discovery.

But first enjoy the imagery of Serra Pelada Gold rush.

Special thanks to Sebastião Salgado for the captivating images of lust for gold.















The picture capture the hardships humanity of such a gold rush. Perhaps an eerie reminder of what the California gold rush and the Australian gold rushes would of looked like.

Such is the lust for gold.

To be continued....


corp.

 

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[Corporate Investigations]

How ironic? One thing we should be very aware of is the poor guy who found it ended up with nothing.

In January 1979 Farmer Genésio Ferreira da Silva hired a geologist to investigate whether gold he found on his property was part of a larger deposit. A local child swimming on the banks of a local river found a 6 grams (0.21 oz) nugget of gold. Soon word leaked out that indeed da Silva was sitting upon one of the largest deposits in the world. By the end of the week a gold rush had started with thousands of people descending on the farm to mine. That was the end of Genésio Ferreira da Silva farm.

Five weeks later, there were 10,000 on Ferreira's property and another 12,000 nearby. Huge nuggets were quickly discovered, the biggest weighing nearly 6.8 kilograms (15 lb), $108,000 at the 1980 market price.[5] ($108,000US is now $ 305,985 in 2013) And so the rush was truly on. Word of mouth spread like proverbial wildfire inflaming the desires of the rural poor living across brazil. For one there seemed a chance to escape the poverty and have a life that we in the west take all our luxuries all for granted.

At first the only way to get to the remote site was by plane or foot. Miners would often pay exorbitant prices to have taxis drive them from the nearest town to the end of a dirt track; from there, they would walk the remaining distance—some 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the site. The growing town, since it could only be made of material that was carried in by hand, was a collection of haphazard shacks and tents.Each miner had a claim 2 metres (6.6 ft) by 3 metres (9.8 ft). By May 1980 there were 4000 such claims.

Early in the development of the gold feild, the Brazilian military took over operations to prevent exploitation of the workers and conflict between miners and owners. Before the military takeover basic goods were sold for hugely inflated prices by the mine owners; water cost $3 a litre ($ 8.5 in 2013). The infamous Sebastiao Rodrigues de Moura (known more by his nickname Coronel Curio) managed the mine for a brief period. Until mine owners and workers revolved against his corrupt regime.

While the military government banned women and alcohol at the actual mine, the nearby town became a town of "stores and whores". Thousands of underage girls prostituted themselves for gold flakes while around 60-80 unsolved murders occurred in the town every month. It was the wild west of Brazil where life was fast and cheap. Pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers made a fortune from the miners and other services. It became the proverbial hell hole of humanity all daring to dream in their own way of fortune and glory.



















Once again I like to thank Sebastião Salgado for the iconic Photographs. The anthill of men is amazing.

From 1979- 1986 the gold diggers dug a gigantic pit by hand and recovered over 2000000 ounces of Gold large amounts of Platinum and Palladium. By 1986 falling gold prices and when the miners hit ground water they could not profitable mine and eventual the rush was over.

or was it?

Corp

 

[Corporate Investigations]

All quiet it seemed.

But there were others curious to know more?

A question taunted Geologists "How big was the actual ore body"

The little backyard miners have their bite of the cherry. It was the big miners who swallowed the whole cherry.

Quietly they bought up all the land and started test drill through the late 1990s. The following image shows the size of the ore body.



The fact of the matter the small miners only got about 10% of the ore body. Which alone recovered 2000000 ounces of gold plus large amounts of platinum and palladium.

The new Mine has a reserve of 18000000 ounces of gold, not counting platinum and Palladium. Value a gold alone is 21 billion at today's rough estimate based on 1200 per ounce. Not counting platinum and palladium.

The discovery could be a big bonanza or worst nightmare?

Production from this mine and from a few other mega mines from around the world could in due course make smaller gold mines uneconomic as the market price of gold will fall from over production.

Such is lure of gold.

Corp.

 

[Oroblanco]

Great thread amigo Corp - however I must respectfully disagree on the statement, such is the lust for gold, lure for gold. Such is the result of grinding poverty, with only the thin hope of striking it rich to escape it.

The Brazilian small miners work hard and endure great hardships, I have great respect for them. Thank you for sharing this.
Oroblanco

 

[Corporate Investigations]

Hello Oro

Coffee.

Indeed There is really nothing to respectfully disagree about.The Brazilian small miners as well as miners all over the world work hard and endure great hardships, I have great respect for them all.

The concept of Gold is a universal one as it is seen by many cultures as the vehicle to drive ones dreams. It however can be a two edged sword? For desire for it inspires and corrupts. Its has made some fantastically rich and others desperately poor. Yet its lure beacons the rich and poor alike to take the gamble of the dice. Some make it fairly others are corrupted by it.

In a world where many people are denied the luxuries which we in the developed world take all for granted, such opportunities to be the masters of our own destinies through the finding gold is an alluring one. Is not a new concept to us as many of our own ancestors was in the exactly the same situation as theirs. Poverty was driving force to seek gold as it was the vehicle to freedom. And Ironically many people today are unaware in the developed world, of the wealth we have today and enjoy, was from those ancestors who dared to dream and drove that vehicle to freedom.

Speaking of freedom if only I had some of the above mining companies shares.

Corp

 

[Springfield]

Some of those photos remind me of scenes in Apocalypto.

The status of gold in human history is a fascinating study and probably transcends the metal's purchasing power.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Well there is always Tayopa

Don Jose de La Mancha.

 

[Crow]

Hello Don Jose

If tayopa was up and producing to its maximun capacity of gold my friend. The price of gold would be back down to 300 per ounce.

Crow

 

[Army of 1]

Thanks for the story Corp .. cheers Mick

 

[Crow]

ditto

Crow

 

[Corporate Investigations]

Hello Thanks for the thumbs up Crow!

But the thanks should go to you and the others the most unlikely of teachers.

After reading through thousand of pages of documents and through those files. I see why you keep so elusive these days.Truly masters of flying under the radar. Any complement from you is a great honor or any of the unholy trio.

Corp

 

[Crow]

Hello Corp

you know the unholy trios time is coming to an end, Old man time has caught up with us. Your going to have wonderful and fascinating life a head of you, More and more over time we will step back more, As your time is coming. Of course we will be always lurking just like golem from lord of the rings Any you perhaps already know once bitten by the bug its hard to shake completely off.

Your Journey is beginning and ours is coming to an End.

Crow

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Speak for yourself Crow, You should never have been able to finish your Haka dance, they should have had you ready for the pot. I still have 60 years.

The only basic way of life,that I would 'want' to change would have been to Theoretical Physics."

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[Corporate Investigations]

Hello Don Jose

The unholy trio are only mere mortals. But you my friend and length of time you have quested after your grail is truly immortal.

How can any of us compete.

Corp