Apuí is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Its population was 18,790 (2005) and its area is 54,240 km². The city shot to fame in December 2006 when a Brazilian math teacher by the name of Ivani Valentim da Silva posted descriptions of miners scooping up thousands of dollars in gold in the area. In just three months, between 3,000 and 10,000 people poured into the area, cutting down trees, diverting streams and digging wildcat mines.