Amazon Gold Ventures Limited: Gold Mining Stocks

The Amazon Rainforest is truly one of the world's greatest and most awe-inspiring natural resources.

The immense 1.4 billion acre South American tropical rainforest produces over one fifth (20%) of the Earth's total oxygen content.

More than a third (33%) of all the world's various animal species live in the Amazon Rainforest, including over 500 species of lizards and reptiles, over 800 species of mammals, and over 1,500 species of birds. The rainforest is also home to nearly 80,000 distinct species of plants and an estimated 30,000,000 types of insects.

It's likely that three quarters (75%) of your fruit and vegetable diet is native to rainforests like the Amazon. Native rainforest plants include; fruits like oranges, lemons, grapefruit, coconuts, bananas, pineapples, mangoes and tomatoes; vegetables including corn, potatoes, rice, and yams; spices like black pepper, cayenne, chocolate, cinnamon, ginger, sugar cane, coffee and vanilla; and nuts including Brazil nuts and cashews.

Meanwhile, over one fourth (25%) of all Western pharmaceuticals are derived from plant ingredients found in the tropical rainforests. And the prospects for finding new cures and drugs to treat all human illnesses from plants in the Amazon Rainforest remains wide open. 99.9% of all plants estimated to grow in the Amazon Rainforest remain untested by scientists.

With such a cornucopia of spectacular natural resources it's no wonder that the Amazon region also yields the greatest and most divine of man's riches: Gold!

The Great Guiana Shield

Historic records show that mining for gold from surface deposits began in the Amazon region as early as the 16th century. Since that time, it's estimated that over 50 million ounces of gold have been extracted from the Amazon.

Most of the gold that was historically discovered was in placer deposits. Old mine workings—called garimpiero pits or garimpos—can be found all throughout Amazonia at easily accessible locations near the coasts and major rivers.

After the early pioneers that worked these mines exhausted the bulk of gold alluvium from a deposit, they would explore the immediately surrounding area for further mineralization. However, difficulties resulting from very remote locations, limited technology, deficient investment, and political instabilities kept the region from full exploration and understanding of its resources until fairly recently.

In the late 1970s, Brazil's military government conducted a sweeping aerial survey of the region. As a result, they helped to confirm the presence of the Guiana Shield, a massive two billion year old geological formation, which has been historically known to contain prolific gold resources.

The Amazonian Guiana Shield is actually the other half of Africa's Guiana Shield, which is responsible for the abounding gold and platinum wealth of South Africa and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Sometime during the Jurassic period—about 135 million years ago—the once whole Guiana Shield was split into two as plate tectonics tore one large land mass into two. Today we call these two parts South America and Africa.

To get a better understanding of how the Guiana Shield once fit together, take a look at the geologic provinces map of the earth below...


You can easily see how South America's Guiana Shield (highlighted in orange) once fit onto Africa.

Today the Amazonian Guiana Shield covers over 100 million acres of jungle and savanna and is the site of a monumental—and still developing—gold rush.

Estimates suggest that 1.5 million explorers have ventured to South America's Guiana Shield seeking gold. Compare this to the 300,000 men, women, and children who migrated to the California hills between 1848 and 1855.

Modern estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey suggest that 12 million ounces of gold were removed during the first five years of the California Gold Rush. This is significantly lower that the estimated 50 million ounces of gold that have been recovered from the Amazonian Guiana Shield.

The latest estimates show that there are still over 500,000 explorers and miners, including several publicly-traded gold mining companies, currently seeking gold fortunes in the Amazon region.

Over the past few decades, the development of better and more reliable technology, and two significant gold bull markets—which have pushed prices 2,851% higher since 1970—has greatly stimulated investment into exploration and development of gold resources in the Amazonian Guiana Shield. As a result, gold production has recently become a major source of income for several countries in the Amazon region, especially Brazil, which has now become one of the world's top five gold producers. » Amazon Gold Ventures Limited: Gold Mining Stocks