Police chase garments workers who have been protesting for higher wages, with water cannon at Ashulia, outskirt of Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 14, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain 

Police chase garments workers who have been protesting for higher wages, with water cannon at Ashulia, outskirt of Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 14, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain 

Police chase garments workers who have been protesting for higher wages, with water cannon at Ashulia, outskirt of Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 14, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain 

Police uses a water cannon during clashes outside the Congress, where the budget bill is being debated, in Buenos Aires, Argentina October 24, 2018. REUTERS/Martin Acosta 

Police use water cannons to disperse farmers during a protest demanding better price for their produce on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, October 2, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer 

Police use water cannons to disperse farmers during a protest demanding better price for their produce on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, October 2, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer 

Police water cannon and an armoured wrecker stand in front of an excavator of the open-cast brown coal mining area of Hambach near the forest "Hambacher Forst", near Kerpen-Buir west of Cologne, Germany, September 16, 2018, where protesters have built a camp with tents and treehouses to stop the clearing of the Hambach forest for coal mining. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay 

Police armoured vehicles and a water cannon are seen at the site as police prepares to clear the area at the "Hambacher Forst" in Kerpen-Buir near Cologne, Germany, September 13, 2018, where protesters have built a camp with tents and treehouses to stop the clearing of the Hambach forest for a nearby open cast coal mining. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay 

Police armoured vehicles and a water cannon are seen at the site as police prepares to clear the area at the "Hambacher Forst" in Kerpen-Buir near Cologne, Germany, September 13, 2018, where protesters have built a camp with tents and treehouses to stop the clearing of the Hambach forest for a nearby open cast coal mining. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay 

A woman passes street furniture shaped like a cannon as she pushes a buggy outside Emirates Stadium, the home of Arsenal soccer club in London, Britain, August 7, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville 

Replica cannon are seen outside Emirates Stadium, the home of Arsenal soccer club in London, Britain, August 7, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville 

A 155 mm Gun M1 also known as M59 cannon and Long Tom which was used during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis against China, is seen near the Grand Hotel, one of the world's tallest Chinese classical style hotel, at Yuanshan in Taipei, Taiwan April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu 

Water cannons spray coloured water on three units of Beechcraft TC90 aircraft from the Japan Ministry of Defense (JMOD) upon their arrival, during a transfer ceremony of the aircrafts to the Philippine Navy at the Naval Air Group (NAG) headquarters in Sangley Point, Cavite city, Philippines March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco 

REFILE - CORRECTING TYPO An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane receives a water cannon salute upon its landing at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel, March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane receives a water cannon statue upon its landing at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel, March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane receives a water cannon salute upon its landing at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel, March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen 

An IranAir Airbus A320-200 passengers aircraft is greeted with a water cannon salute on arrival at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport, Serbia, March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Marko Djurica 

An IranAir Airbus A320-200 passengers aircraft is greeted with a water cannon salute on arrival at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport, Serbia, March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Marko Djurica 

A newly ordered Sri Lankan Airlines A320neo plane arrives under a water cannon salute at Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka, February 27, 2017.Picture taken February 27,2017. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte 

Workers walk past a water cannon spraying water over piles of coal in the Vostochny port area outside the far eastern port of Nakhodka, Russia September 5, 2017. Picture taken September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Katya Golubkova 

Demonstrators march through the Cannon House Office Building during a protest against the Republican tax cut bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein 

A rainbow forms as police use water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest, organised by India's main opposition Congress party, to mark a year since demonetisation was implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Chandigarh, India November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ajay Verma TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

A rainbow forms as police use water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest, organised by India's main opposition Congress party, to mark a year since demonetisation was implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Chandigarh, India November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ajay Verma 

Informal mining in Brazil is seen by many as a scourge polluting the Amazon rainforest, poisoning indigenous tribes and robbing the nation of its wealth. For others it is a way of life. Brazilian garimpos, or wildcat mines, are operated by small crews of men, often caked in red-brown mud and working with rudimentary pans, shovels and sluice boxes that have been used for centuries. More sophisticated operations use water cannons and boats sucking mud from the bottoms of rivers. Regardless of the method, searching for gold and other minerals like cassiterite and niobium is dirty, dangerous and often illegal. "Looking for gold is like playing in a casino," said a 48-year-old miner. Miners asked not to be named, saying they feared the police as much of their work is illegal. Garimpos are in the spotlight as Brazil debates opening an area known as Renca in the northern Amazon forest to mining, which has met with stiff resistance from environmentalists. Mines and Energy Minister Fernando Coelho Filho argues that licensed mining will be an improvement over the estimated 1,000 people currently mining in the reserve illegally. Crepurizao lies hundreds of miles south of Renca, but gives a window into life in the garimpos caught up in the debate. Living in makeshift homes of wood and plastic, miners in the area ship some 60 kilograms of gold per month, according to traders. That much pure gold is worth millions of dollars on the global market, but high costs and layers of traders in the local market leave most miners living on the brink of poverty. REUTERS/Nacho Doce SEARCH "WILDCAT MINING" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY. Matching text: BRAZIL-ENVIRONMENT/MINING 

The first of Israel's El Al Airlines order of 16 Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets receives a water cannon statue upon its landing at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

A car is cleaned with a high pressure water cannon at a petrol station in Madrid, Spain, May 29, 2017. REUTERS/Sergio Perez 

A man cleans his Hyundai car using a high pressure water cannon at a petrol station in Madrid, Spain, May 29, 2017. REUTERS/Sergio Perez 

A woman cleans her car using a high pressure water cannon at a petrol station in Madrid, Spain May 29, 2017. REUTERS/Sergio Perez 

Swiss police officers stand beside a water cannon during a May Day demonstration in Zurich, Switzerland May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann 

Argentine gendarmerie use a water cannon to disperse protestors as they block a road during a 24-hour national strike in Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Martin Acosta 

Anti-riot policemen use a water cannon to disperse protestors as they block a road during a 24-hour national strike in Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Martin Acosta 

A newly ordered Sri Lankan Airlines A320neo plane arrives under a water cannon salute at Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka, February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte 

A man warms up by a fire in Sacred Stone camp, one of the few remaining camps protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang 

American Horse, of the Standing Rock Tribe displays an American Indian Movement shirt in Sacred Stone camp, one of the few remaining camps protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang 

Authorities clear the Oceti Sakowin camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang 

A makeshift doll is seen at the gate separating Rosebud camp and Sacred Stone, one of the few remaining camps protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang 

An animal carcass and an abandoned tent is seen in Rosebud camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang 

Adrian Greyeyes, a Navajo from Arizona watches a police line on Rosebud camp the day after the main camp, Oceti Sakowin, was cleared in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang 

A man stands next to homemade shields in Sacred Stone camp, one of the few remaining camps protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Raven Blackbull, a 21-year-old from Rosebud, South Dakota, looks through a scope to see construction clearing Oceti Sakowin camp from Sacred Stone, one of the few remaining camps protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline and where Blackbull is volunteering as security, in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang 

An abandoned car covered in snow in Sacred Stone camp, one of the few remaining camps protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang 

Authorities occupy part of the newly cleared Rosebud camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang 

A woman walks towards Sacred Stone camp, one of the few remaining camps protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang 

An abandoned truck reading "#NODAPL" inside Sacred Stone, one of the few remaining camps protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline, in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang 

Raven Blackbull, 21, from Rosebud, South Dakota volunteers as security in Sacred Stone, one of the few remaining camps protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang 

Law enforcement officers advance into the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Jasper Spillman, 30, of Lawrence, Kansas, watches law enforcement officers advance into the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Protesters confront police from the surface of the frozen Cannon Ball River after being driven from the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball,, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester 

Police advance into the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester 

Law enforcement officers cut open a shelter in the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester 

Law enforcement officers advance into the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester 

Jasper Spillman, 30, of Lawrence, Kansas, watches law enforcement officers advance into the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester 

Law enforcement officers advance into the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester 

Susanna Travis (left), from Grass Valley, California, embraces Timothy Powers, also from California, before evacuating the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Law enforcement officers move into the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester 

Law enforcement officers advance into the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester 

Law enforcement officers advance into the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester 

Protesters cross the frozen Cannon Ball River as they evacuate the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester 

Protesters evacuate the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester 

Timothy Powers (C, R) from Southern California is detained with another protester in the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester