Alalaú River is a river forming part of the border between the Amazonas and

Roraima Roraima (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas ...

states in north-western

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, a tributary of the

Jauaperi River The Jauaperi River ( pt, Rio Jauaperi) is a river of Amazonas state in northwestern Brazil, a tributary of the Rio Negro. The lower section of the river forms part of the border between Amazonas and Roraima. Most of the river basin is in the W ...

. The river basin is in the

Waimiri Atroari Indigenous Territory The Waimiri Atroari Indigenous Territory ( pt, Terra Indígena Waimiri Atroari) is an indigenous territory in the states of Amazonas and Roraima, Brazil. There has been a long history of violent conflict between the indigenous Waimiri-Atroari pe ...

. Tailings of processed tin ore from the

Pitinga mine The Pitinga mine is an open pit tin mine in Brazil. It is thought to have the largest undeveloped tin deposit in the world. A complete community of 5,000 people was established in the remote location in the Amazon rainforest to support the mining ...

are held in holding ponds as a reserve that may be further processed if justified by a rise in the price of tin. In 1987 the dykes of four ponds broke. The sediment was released into the Alalaú River, and the pollution affected the fish downstream in the Waimiri-Atroari Indian Reserve. The Indians reported that the polluted water had made them ill.

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* * * Rivers of Amazonas (Brazilian state) Rivers of Roraima {{AmazonasBR-river-stub

See also

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