Andean battle against illegal mining escalates

The war on illegal mining ratcheted up a notch in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia, as raids were launched against operations blamed for widespread pollution, deforestation and money laundering.

Bolivia's government faced a major setback as two of its top mining officials were killed and a third was hospitalized in critical condition following a car collision in La Paz department.

The agency's La Paz director and head of legal analysis both died in the crash, Bolivia's administrative mining authority AJAM reported, without specifying whether foul play was involved.

"We expect the full force of the law for the driver who invaded the oncoming lane and caused this regrettable accident, which is under investigation by the police and the public prosecutor," AJAM said in a statement.

The governments of Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia have begun joint efforts in recent years aimed at clamping down on illegal mining and formalizing small-scale operations along their border areas. The sector is believed to generate US$200bn in revenue worldwide, according to the Better Gold Initiative.

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In Colombia, meanwhile, the armed forces shut down 35 illegal mining operations along the Quito river in Chocó department. Soldiers destroyed 10 dredges, 10 excavators and three engines operated by the Clan del Golfo criminal group, Bogota-based publication Semana reported.

Over the past three years the armed forces have raided 380 unauthorized operations and arrested 105 miners in the western coastal department, where illegal alluvial gold mining has spread across 33,000ha. The illegal gold trade accounts for US$1.2bn/y, according to the publication.

The Colombian government has identified 8,000 mining operations in 16 departments, according to the mining ministry. Small-scale mining accounts for 70% of the operations in the country, where about 133,000 informal miners are believed to operate.

At the same time, the armed forces and officials from Ecuador's mining control agency Arcom halted an unauthorized non-metallic mining operation in Cotopaxi province's Tanicuchi district, according to the country's environment ministry.

Peru's government is retaking control of the La Pampa jungle area in Madre de Dios region after halting some of the country's biggest illegal mining operations, defense minister José Huertas said. Illegal mining has deforested 11,000ha in the area, he added.

Last month's two week-long raid involved 1,200 police officers and 300 members of the armed forces, who destroyed river dredges and other equipment, according to Huertas. The armed forces are patrolling the Amazon jungle area by air to prevent illegal miners from returning, Huertas said.

"We've come to La Pampa to stay. We're not going to leave the area until the last day of President Martín Vizcarra's government," Huertas told state gazette El Peruano. "It's a sign that the state took possession of an area illegally occupied by miners who were deforesting the Amazon. We can't allow people to act illegally within national territory."

The Peruvian government estimates there are as many as 400,000 informal miners, who generate an estimated US$3bn in annual revenue and produced about 20% of Peru's 151t of gold output in 2017. Tax authority Sunat has impounded at least 2t of illegally produced gold since 2011.