Brazil gold mining rush brings deforestation and mercury risks to the Amazon

SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say. A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world's largest expanses...

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