Artisanal Gold Mining in the Amazon: Small-Scale Actions and Massive Challenges

Aug 6, 2014 | Columbia University
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Perhaps the most immediate threat to Peru’s forests comes from illegal small-scale gold mining, which accounts for nearly 20% of all of the country’s gold exports. This small-scale or artisanal mining is illegal when the miners fail to have legal permits and inadequate land tenure to conduct mining operations. While it presents needed income for many families and communities, this informal mining generates a lion’s share of Peru’s social conflict, forest degradation, and resource-related violence.