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Construction of the modern mine started in 1986 and the first gold was poured in 1987. The Morro do Ouro mine extracts gold from the lowest grade of ore of any operating mine in the world, 0.43 grams of gold per tonne of ore, to produce seven tonnes of gold per year. Nevertheless, even the waste from this low concentration is still of immense attraction to some garimpeiros, who persisted in prospecting activities by trespassing in violation of national law on the mining lease. Dozens of garimpeiros made incursions on to the mining lease to pan for and recover gold from the waste stream.

For the mine, this caused security problems and damage to property. Naturally, management put up its guard. But in two separate incidents, in 1998 and in 2000, two garimpeiros were shot and fatally injured during security incidents. In the 1998 incident, garimpeiros who were trespassing attacked the guards. A guard was beaten and in self defence shot at his attackers, killing one.

By the time of the second incident, guards were no longer armed, yet another fatal shooting took place. An investigation revealed a security guard had used an unauthorized firearm without permission. The guard and his supervisor were dismissed and the police advised.

The mine's operating company, Rio Paracatu Mineração S.A. (RPM), was shocked by these events and perplexed by the social and economic forces behind the incursions. It commissioned two social studies - a mapping exercise to show Paracatu's social layout in terms of amenities, land use and occupation; and an independent anthropological study of the garimpeiro lifestyle.

Both set out to discover attitudes and seek social and community solutions to the condition of the poorest segments of Paracatu society including the garimpeiros. The studies were completed in 2001, providing the basis for RPM to develop a revised communities programme. Additional input was obtained from employee surveys.



Construction of the modern mine started in 1986 and the first gold was poured in 1987. The Morro do Ouro mine extracts gold from the lowest grade of ore of any operating mine in the world, 0.43 grams of gold per tonne of ore, to produce seven tonnes of gold per year. Nevertheless, even the waste from this low concentration is still of immense attraction to some garimpeiros, who persisted in prospecting activities by trespassing in violation of national law on the mining lease. Dozens of garimpeiros made incursions on to the mining lease to pan for and recover gold from the waste stream. For the mine, this caused security problems and damage to property. Naturally, management put up its guard. But in two separate incidents, in 1998 and in 2000, two garimpeiros were shot and fatally injured during security incidents. In the 1998 incident, garimpeiros who were trespassing attacked the guards. A guard was beaten and in self defence shot at his attackers, killing one. By the time of the second incident, guards were no longer armed, yet another fatal shooting took place. An investigation revealed a security guard had used an unauthorized firearm without permission. The guard and his supervisor were dismissed and the police advised. The mine's operating company, Rio Paracatu Mineração S.A. (RPM), was shocked by these events and perplexed by the social and economic forces behind the incursions. It commissioned two social studies - a mapping exercise to show Paracatu's social layout in terms of amenities, land use and occupation; and an independent anthropological study of the garimpeiro lifestyle. Both set out to discover attitudes and seek social and community solutions to the condition of the poorest segments of Paracatu society including the garimpeiros. The studies were completed in 2001, providing the basis for RPM to develop a revised communities programme. Additional input was obtained from employee surveys.
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Review is published by Rio Tinto, 6 St James' Square, London SW1Y 4LD, England Telephone +44 (0)20 7930 2399 Editor: Cherry DeGeer