All About Illegal Mining

GOLD / 9 FEB 2014

Slave-like conditions, frequent accidents, disease and sexual exploitation are a normal part of the illegal gold mining trade in Peru, a gripping report by a watchdog group reveals.

COLOMBIA / 30 JAN 2014

Emerald miners in Colombia will soon meet with church and police representatives in an attempt to avert a bloody conflict, as ongoing tension highlights the government's failure to curb…

ILLEGAL MINING / 22 JAN 2014

Mining companies in Mexico are now using aircraft to move their products and personnel and ramping up investment in security in order to avoid being robbed and extorted by organized…

GOLD / 9 JAN 2014

The record seizure in Peru of half a ton of illegally mined gold destined for the United States and Europe highlights the scale and international nature of the country's $3…

GOLD / 11 DEC 2013

Two seizures of illegal Peruvian gold have reportedly been traced to a Russian businessman who was part of an exploitative export chain in Peru that reaches all the way to…

CHINA AND CRIME / 4 DEC 2013

Mexico's Knights Templar criminal organization is exerting control over the mining process for iron that supplies the Chinese market, offering another example of how the group has extended its reach…

COLOMBIA / 19 NOV 2013

Three years ago, Buritica was a sleepy farming village tucked away in the mountains of Antioquia in northwest Colombia. Now, it is a gold rush frontier town replete with deathtrap…

GOLD / 29 OCT 2013

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…

ILLEGAL MINING / 28 AUG 2013

Peruvian "mafias" with extensive illegal mining interests are seeking to formalize those operations, according to the government, drawing attention to the fine line between informal and illegal mining.

EXTORTION / 20 AUG 2013

Criminal organizations now control the right to mine in at least five Mexico states, according to those working in the sector, in another example of illegal groups expanding into resource…

COLOMBIA / 9 AUG 2013

An investigation by Bloomberg has revealed Colombia's FARC guerrillas are heavily involved in the mining and sale of tungsten -- a mineral used in the cars, phones, tablets, computers and…

COLOMBIA / 26 JUL 2013

Documents seized by the Colombian police suggest that the ELN are involved in the illegal mining trade in a more sophisticated way, with the guerrillas taking a share of the…

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