Amazon gold mining despescagem removal of material collected in the sluice box by using mercury to amalgamate with the metal

---

Part of the hydraulic gold mining process known as “chupadeira system”. At the end of a day´s washing, using high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material, came the “despescagem”, the removal of material collected in the sluice box by using mercury to amalgamate with the metal. Agua Branca gold mining village, Amazon rain forest, Para State, Brazil.

---

Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Agua Branca gold mining village, Amazon rain forest, Para State, Brazil.
Photo credit: © Ricardo Funari / BrazilPhotos / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: agua, amalgam, amalgamate, amalgamation, amazon, america, artisanal, box, branca, brazil, chupadeira, despescagem, environment, forest, gold, hydraulic, labor, latin, mercury, miner, mining, para, rain, seeker, sluice, sluice-box, sluicing, south, system, teamwork, unhealthy, water, work, worker, workers