‘It’s as if we’re in Mad Max’: warnings for Amazon as goldmining dredges occupy river

Hundreds of illegal goldmining dredges converge in search of metal as one activist describes it as a free-for-all'

Environmentalists are demanding urgent action to halt an aquatic gold rush along one of the Amazon River's largest tributaries, where hundreds of illegal goldmining dredges have converged in search of the precious metal.

The vast flotilla - so large one local website compared it to a floating neighbourhood - reportedly began forming on the Madeira River earlier this month after rumours that a large gold deposit had been found in the vicinity.