HomeNewsBriefIllegal Gold Mining in Peru Worth $3 Billion Annually: Govt
BRIEF

Illegal Gold Mining in Peru Worth $3 Billion Annually: Govt

GOLD / 29 OCT 2013 BY MARGUERITE CAWLEY EN

Illegal gold mining in Peru is worth more than twice as much as the country's drug trade, says a top official, highlighting the growing importance of this extremely lucrative but socially and environmentally destructive sector.

Peru's anti-drugs attorney Sonia Medina told InSight Crime that illegal gold mining in Peru brings in some $3 billion a year, while the drug trade is worth $1.2 billion.

The activity is also growing in scope, especially in Peru's illegal mining heartland -- the province of Madre de Dios. According to the Guardian, researchers recorded a 400 percent increase in the geographical area of Madre de Dios affected by illegal gold mining between 1999 and 2012, mainly in the form of small, clandestine mines.

Carnegie Institution for Science researchers who mapped the gold mining industry in Madre de Dios found much greater environmental damage from the activity than previously thought, with the annual loss of rainforest growing from 2,166 hectares before 2008 to 6,145 hectares after 2008.

As noted by Carnegie researcher Greg Asner, the environmental degradation caused by illegal mining is extreme. "The gold rush in Madre de Dios, Peru exceeds the combined effects of all other causes of forest loss in the region," he said.

madrededios

InSight Crime Analysis

In 2011, a consulting firm reported that illegal gold mining exports were worth an estimated $1.79 billion that year, accounting for 22 percent of total 2011 gold exports. The latest figure suggests that this trade is growing rapidly, with profits nearly doubling in two years, while estimated profits from the cocaine trade have remained constant.

SEE ALSO: Peru News and Profiles

In Peru, much of the gold mining industry is illegal because it is informal, or unlicensed, occurring in areas with little state presence. While there are certain "gold capos" that allegedly control large swathes of mining territory, the industry is not generally run by organized crime groups, as is the case in Colombia. However, one security analyst has claimed that drug traffickers use illegal gold mining to launder drug profits, and the lucrative nature of the business makes it plausible the links between the two illicit activities will continue to grow.

The wealth and large male population found in gold mining towns also fuels domestic human trafficking; both in the form of forced labor in the mines and forced prostitution, with thousands of young girls trafficked into the region, according to some estimates.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COCA / 11 JUL 2022

Following multiple killings, Indigenous leaders in the Peruvian Amazon are again facing threats of violence after coca eradication operations in…

ECUADOR / 14 FEB 2022

Peru has convicted a gang of shark fin traffickers for the first time in history but more is needed to…

ELITES AND CRIME / 17 NOV 2021

On November 5, 2019, threatening pamphlets appeared on the streets of El Callao, a mining town in Venezuela's eastern state…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…