In January 1979 a local farmer, Genésio Ferreira da Silva, discovered he was sitting on one of largest deposits of gold in the world. At his remote Brazilian farm 430 kilometres (270 miles) south of the Amazon River, nuggets of gold began washing up on shore. Eventually, one huge nugget, as big as 6.8 Kg (15 lbs) and worth over $300,000 USD would be found on the farm. This beautiful gold, filled with so much hope and promise, was found in the tranquil town of Serra Pelada,