Serra Pelada is a region located in Serra dos Carajás, in the south of the state of Pará and is famous for having housed the largest open mining ever recorded in history. The Serra Pelada mining reached its peak of activity between 1980 and 1983, becoming the largest open-pit mining in the world. At the time, thousands of miners sought to get rich quickly by extracting gold at the site.
Want to know more about the subject? Check out the main events and milestones in this history below.
How did gold exploration begin in Serra Pelada?
There are many different opinions about the beginning of the gold rush in Serra Pelada. However, the most widely accepted version is that Genésio Ferreira da Silva, a former landowner in the area, discovered an unusual mineral while excavating to build a fence near a watercourse in the late 1970s. Initially unaware of the type of material he had found, Genésio went to Marabá, where, after analysis, he discovered that it was gold.
Genésio hired approximately thirty prospectors to work on extracting gold from the region, and in a period of two weeks, more than thirty kilograms of the precious metal were removed. The news spread quickly and five weeks later, approximately three thousand people had headed to the area in search of fortune. By 1980, the number of people in the region had surpassed five thousand.
However, the peak of exploration would come in 1983, when prospectors extracted around 14 tons of gold, according to data from the National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM), now the National Mining Agency (ANM).
It is estimated that around 100,000 people worked to extract 42 tons of ore throughout the 1980s and early 1990s in Serra Pelada.
Due to the gold mining, the region attracted doctors, nurses, farmers, engineers, drivers, priests, among others. With the increase in the number of prospectors in the area, the federal government intervened with political and economic objectives. Thus, agencies such as the federal police, the federal revenue service, the post office and the federal savings bank were set up. To avoid confusion, women and alcoholic beverages were prohibited from entering the area, and army major Sebastião Curió was assigned to organize the mining in the region.
In mining, it was only possible to sell the extracted gold to the federal savings bank, and the amount paid was fixed.
With the large number of people in Serra Pelada, the workers' families began to settle about 30 km away. As a result, in the 1980s, the city of Curionópolis was founded, which was named after Colonel Sebastião Curió.
Daily life of workers in Serra Pelada
The work environment was precarious and improvised, which resulted in dangerous conditions for the miners. They suffered from intense heat, compromised ladders, ravines without safety measures, and contamination from air, mud, and mercury. Unfortunately, these conditions led to the occurrence of several deaths.
Life for the workers was difficult. Despite the flourishing trade and organization in the area, most workers were barely surviving. They had no access to a decent bed and slept in cramped sheds, using only hammocks.
The miners woke up at dawn, around 4 am, and worked until 8 pm. Their food was basic, usually consisting only of meat and flour. They kept their few possessions in cloth bags. Inside the pit, space was tight and the workers crowded together on the various ravines and staircases of the mine. All this led to Serra Pelada being known as the “human anthill”.
Division of labor in Serra Pelada
In the mining area, the land was divided into 2 x 3 meter ravines, which were initially conquered by force, but were later drawn at random. Under the supervision of the owners of each ravine was the person responsible for the orders, known as “meia-praça”, who determined where to dig and received a small commission for the gold found. The other workers were called:
- Ant: Workers who dug the ground and, after finding a rock, filled a bag with approximately 35 kg of soil and climbed up and down improvised ladders, called “goodbye mommy”. Their pay was proportional to the weight carried.
- Digger: This was one of the most important roles, second only to the owner of the ravines and the “half-square”. His job was to hammer rocks in search of nuggets, although it depended a lot on luck. Some found nuggets the size of a golf ball.
- Pointer: The person in charge of recording the number of bags removed by the earth carriers.
- Cleaners: They were the people in charge of washing, they drained the soil through a trough covered in liquid mercury. An alloy was formed by the union of the substance with the gold, which was taken to a pan to separate the alloy from the soil, after which the rest was heated to evaporate the mercury and leave only the gold.
The tragedy and the end of the golden age in Serra Pelada
Gold mining in Serra Pelada peaked between 1980 and 1983, despite attempts by former President Figueiredo to close the site. In September 1985, after the end of the military dictatorship, the Serra Pelada Gold Miners' Cooperative took control of gold mining in the region. In April 1986, a woman was allowed to enter the mine for the first time.
With the decline in gold production, on December 28, 1987, miners blocked the road-rail bridge over the Tocantins River to protest the lack of security at the site and the low production. They demanded that the government improve mining conditions.
Unfortunately, the situation escalated when the Pará Military Police cleared the bridge, resulting in the deaths of miners. While the Military Police reported three deaths among the protesters, the miners reported that there were more than 60 deaths.
This tragic event marked the end of the peak of gold production in Serra Pelada. From 1987 onwards, gold production began to decline and never reached its previous levels again. In 1988, annual production fell to 745 kg and in 1990 to less than 250 kg.
The end of mining in Serra Pelada occurred in 1992, during the term of President Fernando Collor de Mello, who ordered the closure of the site and the removal of drainage machines. This is how rainwater and groundwater began to occupy the space.
In 2020, a team made up of technicians from the National Mining Agency and the Parauapebas Civil Defense began an action to recover the Serra Pelada dam and minimize its risks and potential damage.
Who owned Serra Pelada?
The mining rights to Serra Pelada were held by the Vale do Rio Doce company, which maintained a subsidiary in the area without mining the mineral. The company was never able to expel the miners from the region, and in 1984, Vale was approved to pay compensation of US$60 million for the gold that had been extracted by the miners.
In 2001, the government granted the right to the site to the miners, but in 2006 there was a standoff between the government, Vale do Rio Doce and the miners.
The Canadian company Colossus Minerals signed an agreement with the Serra Pelada Miners' Cooperative (Coomigasp) in 2007 to explore the Serra Pelada region. The contract provided that Coomigasp would have a 49% stake in the mine and Colossus 51%.
In 2009, the contract was modified and Colossus now had a 75% stake. The company began making monthly payments to the cooperative, but most of the money disappeared. After complaints were filed, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office investigated the case, and in 2012 the courts removed the cooperative's management.
In 2013, Colossus Minerals faced a series of protests by miners in Serra Pelada. The group was protesting against a change in the profit-sharing agreement between the mining company and the cooperative. The repercussions of the project resulted in the change of several directors at the company, including CEO Cláudio Mancuso, who resigned in November 2013.
Colossus raised funds on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada, but the Serra Pelada project never got off the ground. In 2014, due to financial difficulties, the company closed its capital on the stock exchange and laid off its employees in Brazil. In 2016, Colossus permanently cancelled the CNPJ of its Brazilian subsidiary Colossus Mineração LTDA.
Serra Pelada has been the object of interest for countless people seeking to improve their financial conditions and help their families. Unfortunately, many people have died in pursuit of wealth. Although some people have achieved economic success, most have not experienced significant changes in their lives. Approximately 42 tons of gold have been extracted from the site. In addition, geological studies estimate that there are between 20 and 50 tons of gold still submerged under the lake.
Films and documentaries about Serra Pelada
The story of Serra Pelada has been portrayed in various media, such as films, miniseries and documentaries. Among the adaptations, we highlight some below:
Documentary: Serra Pelada — The Legend of the Golden Mountain
The documentary investigates the legends and facts behind Serra Pelada, telling the story through the voices of several prospectors who worked there, exposing the difficulties they experienced, the organization of the place, the coexistence, and the hope of getting rich through gold.
Miniseries: Serra Pelada, The Saga of Gold
The miniseries tells the story of two friends (Juliano and Joaquim) who set off for Serra Pelada in search of a better life through mining. However, the hard life and greed end up changing their lives and friendship forever.
Movie: The Bumblers in Serra Pelada
The film shows the misadventures of four friends in Serra Pelada, trying to free themselves from the control of a foreigner and, at the same time, get rich. The film was filmed in Serra Pelada in 1982, and even though it is a satire of the mining situation at the time, it can provide good laughs.
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Bibliographic sources:
BRAZILIAN INSTITUTE OF MUSEUMS (IBRAM). Serra Pelada was the largest open-pit mining site in the 1980s [Internet]. [sd]. Available at: https://ibram.org.br/noticia/serra-pelada-foi-o-maior-garimpo-a-ceu-aberto-nos-anos-80/ .
WORLD EDUCATION. Serra Pelada [Internet]. [sd]. Available at: https://mundoeducacao.uol.com.br/geografia/serra-pelada.htm .
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CRISTAL JUNIOR. Serra Pelada: What happened? [Internet]. [sd]. Available at: https://cristaljr.com/serra-pelada-o-que-aconteceu .
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ICONOGRAPHY OF HISTORY. The history of the gold rush in Serra Pelada. Iconography of History, October 2, 2020. Available at: https://iconografiadahistoria.com.br/2020/10/02/a-historia-da-corrida-do-ouro-em-serra-pelada/ .
Colossus abandons project in Serra Pelada, says Coomigasp. Folha de S. Paulo, December 22, 2002. Available at: https://feeds.folha.uol.com.br/fsp/brasil/fc0112200223.htm .
INFORAMAZONIA. Serra Pelada: utopia of the return of the most famous mine in Brazil. InfoAmazonia, [sd]. Available at: https://infoamazonia.org/webstories/serra-pelada-utopia-do-retorno-da-mina-mais-famosa-do-brasil/ .
MINING NEWS. Colossus abandons project in Serra Pelada, says Coomigasp. Mining News. Available at: https://www.noticiasdemineracao.com/outros/news/1137341/colossus-abandona-projeto-em-serra-pelada-diz-coomigasp .
Donizete Souza
I am a student of Mining Engineering at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and I currently work as an intern at DMT.
donizete.pereira@dmt-group.com