Soaring Gold Prices Fuel Environmental Crisis
With gold prices expected to reach $3,675 per ounce by late 2025, illegal mining in Peru’s Amazon has surged, driven by soaring demand. Miguel Ángel Cadenas, a Catholic leader and longtime resident of the region, warns that unregulated extraction is contaminating rivers with mercury and endangering local communities. Mercury is used in small-scale mining to extract gold, but it pollutes waterways and bioaccumulates in fish and humans, leading to severe health risks.
Mercury Contamination Threatens Health and Food Security
Hair samples and fish from the Tigre, Nanay, Napo, and Putumayo rivers show mercury levels far above World Health Organization (WHO) limits. In some areas, nearly 80% of residents exceed safe mercury exposure thresholds. “We are in a delicate situation,” Cadenas said, noting that fish is a staple food source. Women of childbearing age in Madre de Dios also show alarming mercury levels, with 43% testing above WHO guidelines.
Weak Oversight Enables Illegal Gold to Enter Global Markets
Analysts blame poor traceability systems that allow illegally mined gold to flow into international supply chains. Cadenas stresses that gold-buying nations like China, the UAE, Switzerland, and the UK must implement stricter controls. “The first responsibility should be that those countries buying gold require traceability,” he said, arguing that Peru alone cannot combat the problem.
Indigenous Voices and Environmental Defenders Under Threat
Illegal mining’s expansion has brought violence. Environmental defenders across the Amazon face growing danger, with Colombia and Peru ranking high for related killings. Cadenas reported threats from armed groups linked to illegal mining, including FARC dissidents. “There are people who are being threatened with death,” he warned.
Efforts Fall Short as Water Crisis Deepens
Though Peru launched Operation Mercury in 2019 and seized record amounts of contraband mercury, enforcement remains spotty. At the Amazon Water Summit in Iquitos, Cadenas highlighted that 60% of Loreto’s population lacks clean water. A 2023 court ruling declared this an “unconstitutional state,” but progress remains minimal. Cadenas closed with a moral appeal: “Earning money is fine, but it cannot be at the cost of injustice and the lives of the poorest.”
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Gold demand puts Peru’s Amazon at greater risk from mercury poisoning, bishop warns
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