Peru to penalize illegal gold mining with up to 12 years in prison

The Peruvian Congress is discussing a bill that introduces the term “ecocide” to classify the effects of illegal mining and which would penalize such crimes with up to 12 years in prison or fines of up to 50,000 times the country’s minimum wage.

Penalties could go from fines equivalent to 50,000 times Peru’s minimum wage to 12 years in prison.

The move is the government latest desperate attempt to put an end to an activity that has carved a toxic path through Peru’s rainforest, one of the most biologically diverse places on earth, local RCN Radio reported (in Spanish).

In May, President Ollanta Humala declared a 60-day state of emergency in a large remote area of the Amazon jungle as levels of mercury from illegal gold mining reached record high levels.

According to country's environment minister, as many as 50,000 people or 41% of the population of the gold-rich Madre de Dios region, bordering Brazil, has been exposed to mercury contamination in recent years.

The lethal element has not only directly affected people, but it has also polluted rivers and fish.

As many as 50,000 people or 41% of the population of the gold-rich Madre de Dios region, bordering Brazil, has been exposed to mercury contamination in recent years. (Image from archives)

Illegal miners use mercury to separate the gold from rock and then dump the chemical into water streams. They often handle the neurotoxin with their bare hands and inhale its fumes when it is burned off.

Destruction is spreading to a whole new area by the Santiago River, which is already equivalent in size to 12 soccer fields.

The story, unfortunately, is nothing new. For years, illegal miners have been eating away the Peru’s rainforest, while the government tries to tighten the screws on illegal mining. However, the battle against illicit miners is far from over.

Until recently, no one really knew the full extent of the damage, but a research team from the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC, and Peru’s Ministry of the Environment released in 2013 the first set of satellite images mapping the destruction.

The study showed the illicit activity had already destroyed almost 20,000 hectares of the Amazon rainforest.

To make thing worse, satellite images releases last month show destruction is spreading to a whole new area by the Santiago River, which is already equivalent in size to 12 soccer fields.

High-resolution image of the newly deforested area due to mining activity along the Santiago River (see yellow circle). The total forest loss to date is 8 hectares (20 acres). (Images courtesy of MAAP.org —Monitoring the Andean Amazon Project | Satellite images: ©DigitalGlobe 2016)

Despite the government’s efforts to tighten the screws on illegal mining, covert gold production in the South American nation has increased fivefold since 2012, and it is estimated to provide 100,000 direct jobs in the country, 40% of which are in the Madre de Dios region, located in southern Peru.

The situation is mirrored in dozens of the countries, where gold is similarly mined and where the desperately poor often end up working in risky conditions.

Peru is the world's sixth largest gold producer and the top-producing nation in Latin America, but an estimated 20% of its annual output is of unknown origin.

The post Peru to penalize illegal gold mining with up to 12 years in prison appeared first on MINING.com.

from MINING.com http://ift.tt/2bY4ve5