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Selling sex for gold in the Amazon's illegal mines

BBC
Summary
Nutrition label

73% Informative

Brazil 's northern Para state is at the heart of the country's illegal gold-mining trade.

Many women in Itaituba , nicknamed Gold Nugget City , return to the mines to work as a sex worker.

Life in mining villages in the rainforest is harsh - most consist of just a dirt track, saloon bars and a church.

The three largest customers of Brazilian gold are Canada , Switzerland and the UK .

Land covered by Brazil ’s illegal gold mines more than doubled in the 10 years to 2023 , to 220,000 hectares an area larger than Greater London .

No-one knows how many women work in this area, or even how many illegal miners there are.

The government has taken steps to close illegal mines and to stop dealers buying gold.

VR Score

74

Informative language

70

Neutral language

53

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

33

Offensive language

offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

medium-lived

Affiliate links

no affiliate links