History: Serra Pelada Gold Mine, Pará, Brazil

Serra Pelada (English: "Bald Mountain") was a large gold mine in Brazil 430 kilometres (270 mi) south of the mouth of the Amazon River. The mine was made famous by the images taken by Sebastião Salgado showing an anthill of workers moving vast amounts of ore by hand. Because of the chaotic nature of the operation estimating the number of miners was difficult, but at least 100,000 people were thought to be present, making it one of the largest mines in the world. Today the Serra Pelada mine is abandoned and the giant open pit that was created by hand has filled with water, creating a small polluted lake.