Mining in Brazil
Encyclopedia
Timeline
- Discovery of first gold rushGold rushA gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
in 1690s, gold discoveries made in streams not far from present day city of Belo HorizonteBelo HorizonteBelo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...
. - In 1729 diamonds were discovered in the same area. This started a diamond rush.
- By 1760 nearly half of the world's gold was from Brazil.
- In the early 18th century nearly 400,000 Portuguese immigrants came to mine in southern Brazil.
- Over half a million African slaves were shipped to work in the gold mines.
- In 1988 Brazil was the 5th largest gold producer in the world.
- Brazil mined iron, gold, tin, copper and BauxiteBauxiteBauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
(contains aluminium).
See also
- Amazon Mining
- Brazil Gold RushBrazil Gold RushThe Brazil Gold Rush was a gold rush that started in the 1690s, in the then-Portuguese colony, now the nation of Brazil. The rush opened up the major gold-producing area of Ouro Preto , then the aptly named Vila Rica .The rush began when bandeirantes discovered large gold deposits in the mountains...