Guld förekommer överallt i världen. Själva ordet för guld har i de flesta fall samband med färgen eller med solen. Det latinska aurum, som gett oss guldet tecken Au, är hämtat från Aurora, morgonrodnadens gudinna och har alltså direkt med solen att göra. Den mjuka metallen guld har gjort det till en fredlig metall, men å andra sidan har dess värde gett upphov till krig och mycket elände.
With gold prices high, small mining operations have sprung up along rivers in the section of the Amazon rainforest in Peru. Tens of thousands of fortune hunters are now prospecting for "pepitas," as gold nuggets are called.
As a girl, Francisca Hualla (left) used tin plates to wash the sand along riverbanks. Before the crisis, the gold dust she collected was barely enough to survive. Now she's on the road to becoming a millionaire.
Since the onset of the financial crisis in 2007, rising gold prices have sparked mining in Peru's rain forest. Here, miners work along the Madre de Dios river in July.
Huepetuhe is the largest gold prospectors' settlement in the region. It's a typical wild mining town with brothels, bars and tool shops lining potholed streets.
Corruption is rampant and environmental standards are lax. "Gold prospecting is toxic for the environment," says Boris Melinc, a descendent of Slovenian immigrants who operates a claim on the banks of the Madre de Dios.
Källa Der Spiegel
