Brazil exports a hundred tonnes of gold a year and evidence is emerging that suggests almost half of Brazils gold trade comes from an illegal source. But Brazilian Federal Police, as previously reported by the investigative news agency Reporter Brazil, are zeroing in on local businesses they suspect of trading in gold from protected areas, raising serious concerns for tech companies using the mineral in their products.

Despite the money being made by mining bosses, most who do the actual mining are also impoverished. Galdos encounters illegal miners who say theyve been mining for 30 years but earn just enough money to survive. Their work is wet and dirty, and a world away from what many would associate with gold. They wade through muddy water mixed with toxic mercury which increases their risk of kidney failure and serious neurological problems.

Director: Helene Cacace & Mauricio Monteiro Filho
Series Producer: Andy Lee
Executive Producer: Ed Fraser
Production Company: Channel 4 News