This Campaign Turns Gold Bars Into a Powerful Statement Against Illegal Mining
Gold that shines at the cost of lives. With this premise, DM9 launches the ‘Death Gold’ campaign, in partnership with the Urihi Yanomami Association, to denounce the lethal effects of illegal mining on the Yanomami people. The initiative turns gold extracted from illegal mining into a cry for help: 50 real death certificates of Indigenous people who died from contamination, violence, or neglect were manually engraved on illegal gold bars seized by the police, making each bar a monument to the silent tragedy unfolding in the Brazilian Amazon.
The campaign exposes the deadly cycle fueled by global demand for gold, often lacking traceability. Currently, Brazil is the 10th largest gold producer in the world, with 71% of its production being illegal — mostly extracted from Yanomami lands. The consequences are devastating: 10% of the Yanomami population has already been wiped out in a silent genocide driven by consumers who are unaware of — or choose to ignore — the origin of what they buy1.
The campaign pieces were photographed and displayed in countries that lead the importation of illegal Brazilian gold, as a way to confront the public with their shared responsibility.
1) Data provided by Urihi Yanomami Association
