Magazine content is available exclusively for TIME subscribers.BRAZIL: The Treasure of Serra Pelada
An uncontrolled gold rush turns into a government project
Deep in Brazil's Amazon jungle, thousands of dust-covered laborers swarm over a mountain of red earth, using their pickaxes and shovels to carve its surface into a bizarre landscape. It is a scene that could belong to an outlandish biblical epic movie or a sinister labor camp. It is neither. Serra Pelada (Bald Mountain), 270 miles south of the mouth of the Amazon River, is the site of one of the biggest gold rushes in modern Brazilian history. It is also an experiment by Brazil's...
To read the entire article, you must be a TIME subscriber. Already registered? Sign in below
Current print subscribers to register
Subscribe now to get TIME All Access
Email, Password or Region is incorrect
A required form parameter was missing.
The System is currently down. Please try again in a few minutes.
Email Address is invalid
Password is blank
Most Popular »
- Icelanders Avoid Inbreeding Through Online Incest Database
- The 2012 World Press Photo of the Year
- Top 10 Celebrity Restaurants
- Why American Kids Are Brats
- A Cancer Drug Reverses Alzheimer's Disease in Mice
- Jimmy Stewart: A Hero Home From the War
- The Second Coming of Warren Jeffs: The Jailed Polygamist Leader Prepares His Flock for Doomsday
- Why Is Your Boss Moving to Brazil?
- The Foreclosure Deal: Obama and the Banks Win Big While Homeowners See Modest Reward
- Who Qualifies for the $26 Billion Foreclosure Settlement?
- Why Is Your Boss Moving to Brazil?
- The Upside Of Being An Introvert (And Why Extroverts Are Overrated)
- The Second Coming of Warren Jeffs: The Jailed Polygamist Leader Prepares His Flock for Doomsday
- Why Mario Monti Is the Most Important Man in Europe
- Friends With Benefits
- Lessons Unlearned: Why Another Gigantic Famine Looms in Africa
- Companies Are the New Countries
- Seoul Searching
- New York City: 10 Things to Do
- Why It's Time to Replace No Child Left Behind
More News from Our Partners
Top Stories on TIME.com
Quotes of the Day »
BRIDGET COLE, a 4th-grade teacher from Colorado, after the Obama administration freed 10 states from some of the landmark law's toughest requirements.
