An increase in illegal gold mining in the Amazon rainforest has reached "epidemic" proportions, a study has revealed.



The report, released by the Amazon Socio-Environmental Geo-Referenced Information Project (RAISG) on Monday, exposed the damage that illicit mining for gold has had on forest and waterways, as well as on the life of indigenous tribes in the area.

Combining satellite imagery and government data, researchers identified at least 2,312 illegal mining sites that spanned across six countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela. The group was not able to collect data on mining activity in Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname.

"The scope of illegal mining in the Amazon, especially in indigenous territories and protected natural areas, has grown exponentially in recent years, with the rise in the price of gold," said Beto Ricardo, head of the RAISG.

An increase in gold prices over the past decade following the global recession has set off a gold rush, with hundreds of thousands of illegal miners pouring into the Amazon to reap the benefits.

Read more: Amazon deforestation documented via massive satellite imaging

Watch video 02:01 Share Gold miners endanger Ecuadorian town Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2s6JZ Gold miners endanger Ecuadorian town

Impact on indigenous communities

The methods used to mine gold have taken their toll on the environment. Mercury, which is used to separate gold from grit, has poisoned the rivers, the RAISG report said.

When mercury seeps into soil, rivers and the food chain, it can cause serious health problems for the people who live in the area. The study highlighted some 55 illegal mining sites in protected areas, home to indigenous communities.

Read more: Illegal logging, mining threaten an Amazon river community

"Illegal mining can kill us," said Agustin Ojeda, an indigenous leader of Venezuela's Shirian people, as quoted in the report.

"The mining wells allow for the reproduction of mosquitoes that bring diseases, such as malaria. The effect of mercury on water isn't taken seriously either. It not only contaminates water but also the fish we eat," he explained.

One of the worst-hit areas is home to the Yanomami indigenous people, who live in a territory that stretches between Brazil and Venezuela.

Watch video 06:25 Share Making a living in the Amazon Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/1EQqR Making a living in the Amazon

Mining could expand in Brazil

The report was released just three weeks before Brazil's new president, Jair Bolsonaro, takes office on January 1. The firebrand right-wing president-elect has said he would stop recognizing new native reservation lands.

He has also expressed support for a relaxation of environmental licensing processes for infrastructure projects and other businesses. This could have a major impact in the region, as Brazil is home to the world's largest rainforest in the Amazon.

"The public narrative is to clear the area [of forests], weaken those institutions that monitor and control in favor of agribusiness and mining for the production and export of commodities, which will hasten the deterioration of the forest," Ricardo said.

Backed by a powerful agribusiness lobby, Bolsonaro has been heavily criticized by environmental groups for his plans and also his dismissal of climate change concerns.

jcg/cmk (Reuters, AFP)

Venezuela's illegal gold mines Mafia war in Venezuelan gold mines There is a bloody mafia war raging for control of the unlicensed gold mines in the Venezuelan state of Bolivar. Miners get killed regularly, their bodies mutilated or riddled with bullets. They have flocked to this region as President Nicolas Maduro's Socialist government has struggled with a three-year recession, spiraling inflation and food shortages.

Venezuela's illegal gold mines Dangerous life in the mines of El Callao A worker descends into an underground mine on the bank of a river in El Callao. It is believed, that 90 percent of the gold produced in the South American nation comes from illegal mines. In a country where a crushing economic crisis has fueled an epidemic of violent crime, such mines are "primarily in mafia hands," says Venezuelan Mining Chamber head Luis Rojas.

Venezuela's illegal gold mines "I'll probably do this till I die" A narrow mine shaft is filled with water and the smell of gases. The handmade wood supports to prevent a collapse look precarious at best. But Ender Moreno is unfazed. At 18 years old, he has already been doing this job for eight years. "I'm not afraid," he says as he climbs through the pitch black, his headlamp lighting the way through the hazardous maze 30 meters (100 feet) underground.

Venezuela's illegal gold mines Assault rifle shootouts common Ender knows three young men who were killed in his neighborhood. "They were miners, but they started running around with gangsters." A while ago, his boss at the mine was killed because he refused to let mobsters take over the business. Two months before that, 28 workers were massacred at a nearby mine, in what authorities called a turf war between rival gangs.

Venezuela's illegal gold mines Polluting mining A miner shows a gold-mercury amalgam he found prospecting. At the nearby Nacupay gold mine, workers dig the earth from the bed of a contaminated river as others pour mercury into pans of extracted sediment. The open-pit mine is known as one of the most violent and polluting in the region.

Venezuela's illegal gold mines Desperate situation Ender looks for gold in an open pit. After returning back to the surface, he contemplates his future during a short break. "My mom says this is no kind of life. But I can't stop because I need the money to help her," the teenage miner says. Workers make somewhere between 260,000 and one million bolivars a month ($95 to $360 or €88 to €334) - which, they point out, is far higher than minimum wage.

Venezuela's illegal gold mines Workers sleep on-site in malaria-ridden camps Venezuela was the first nation worldwide to eradicate malaria in its most populated areas, even preceding the United States in 1961. However, the situation now has changed for the worse, as the country has reported an increase in the incidence of malaria cases every year since 2008. The state of Bolivar accounts for the majority of these cases. Author: Nadine Berghausen



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