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Aurelia dos Santos Fidalgo stood on the edge of the vast open pit mine, its levels exposed as it descended deep into the earth. Copper-colored rock strata stretched as far as she could see, fading into the distance, and bleeding into the bright blue of the Brazilian sky above.
The giant trucks that transported ore to the processing area looked like toys from this distance high above, but the din of their engines echoed up the canyon regardless, the sound of weapons wielded daily against the land. The roads they traveled were scars that deepened every day, marks that Aurelia imagined were etched upon her own heart.
Mina de Fidalgo was her father's dream. Billions of tons of iron ore lay in the rock along with gold, manganese, bauxite, copper and nickel and he had spent his life creatin
