In the red-dirt hills of Minas Gerais, a part of Brazil named for the mines that provided livelihoods for generations, the country’s worst-ever environmental disaster has unearthed a new opportunity for locals stung by recession and job losses — panning for gold. Wildcat mining is on the rise in communities devastated by the collapse of a dam that in November unleashed a deadly avalanche of sludge from the giant Samarco iron-ore mine, killing residents and destroying homes. Thousands were left jobless amid a deep national recession. But the landslide also churned up riverbeds enough to expose flecks of precious metal like those that sparked Brazil’s first gold rush three centuries ago.
