The COVID-19 pandemic exposes both conflict and cooperation in artisanal and small-scale
gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon. Reporting on the experiences of artisanal and small-
scale gold miners (garimpeiros, in Brazilian Portuguese), we show how, on the one hand,
the pandemic challenges an already precarious working system that could lead garimpeiros,
often invisible to public policies, to positions of further vulnerability; and, on the other hand,
highlights the capacity of garimpeiros to self-organize and navigate the difficulties by finding …