What life is like for the hundreds of rural Brazilians who still mine diamonds by hand

The mines in the northern part of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais were once the most important diamond sources in the world.

But the mines are long abandoned, now just craters stripped nearly bare by multinational mining companies.

Yet in this rural and remote area, there are still hundreds of Brazilians who depend on the mines for survival. Using only hand-held tools, rural workers who stay in bare huts descend upon the depleted no-man's land looking for a windfall.

Without electricity, running water, or a steady income, these workers barely manage to survive - unless their luck suddenly turns and a rare windfall springs forth.

AP photographer Felipe Dana recently traveled to the desolate and grueling mines of Areinha to document the struggling miners' experience.