Bolivia illegal mining operations spreading - official

Bolivian illegal miners are spreading across the northern highlands in the absence of state control, a regional government official said.

Bolivia, a major zinc, silver and tin producer, is failing to control areas in the La Paz department set aside for state mining company Comibol and geological agency Sergeotecmín, said La Paz governor César Cocarico. The areas include Arcopongo in the Inquisivi province, where clashes between cooperative miners and police left three dead in May.

Comibol and Sergeotecmín, which have declared all mining operations in Arcopongo illegal, need to take steps to prevent further social conflicts, Cocarico added.

"After we went in, apparently they [Comibol and Sergeotecmín] never returned. Not even once. They're not controlling illegal mining activity," Cocarico told state news agency ABI. "If they don't go in, other people who are interested will keep entering. These institutions must act with force, so that there are no more illegal mining operations or conflicts."

Illegal mining operations have boomed in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Suriname and Guyana due to a lack of government presence and driven by the high price of gold, which jumped sevenfold over a decade to more than US$1,900/oz in 2011, according to the Better Gold Initiative.

Bolivia's President Evo Morales, who has seized mining operations from companies, including Glencore and South American Silver, since taking office in 2006, pushed through a new mining code in May, which seeks to assert state control over future mining contracts.

Cooperative protests against the new code left at least two dead in March. Most of Bolivia's 79,000 miners are members of the country's 434 cooperatives, according to the Bolivian national mining cooperatives confederation.

Bolivia boosted metals exports 40% to over US$2.8bn in 2013, according to the mining ministry. The country, which is home to mines operated by Pan American Silver, Sumitimo, Coeur Mining, Orvana Minerals and Franklin Mining, produced 11,400t tin, 430,000t zinc and 39.7Moz silver in 2012, according to industry associations.