South America stepping up fight against illegal mining

Bolivia's government arrested 20 miners in an unauthorized operation, part of a region-wide crackdown on illegal mining.

The country's mining administration authority (AJAM) arrested 20 foreigners during an operation along the Kaka river in La Paz department, mining minister César Navarro said.

The operation is part of a government drive to formalize about 9,000 mining concessions, state news agency ABI reported. The government to date has canceled about 400 concessions operated by third parties, according to the agency.

At least eight South American countries are working to formalize a sector blamed for pollution, deforestation, money laundering, tax evasion, corruption and the slave trade. Illegal mining has spread since gold prices jumped to a record US$1,900/oz in 2011, according to Better Gold Initiative.

COLOMBIA, PERU

In Colombia, small-scale miners blocked roads in Valle del Cauca department in protest following a military operation that destroyed boats and mining equipment at an illegal operation, newspaper El Tiempo reported.

The Colombian government has identified 7,000 mining operations in 16 departments, according to the energy and mines ministry. Small-scale mining accounts for 70% of operations in the country, where about 133,000 informal miners are believed to operate.

The governments of Peru and Ecuador, meanwhile, set up a joint team aimed at eradicating illegal mining operations along the Puyango-Tumbes river that runs along part of their border.

Peru's natural parks agency (Sernanp) and Ecuador's environment ministry this month began patrolling the northern jungle area to monitor mining operations, Lima newspaper El Comercio reported. The Peruvian government is struggling to formalize an estimated 200,000 miners in 15 regions.

BRAZIL, VENEZUELA

The Brazilian navy next month plans to patrol its northwestern border with French Guiana to fight illegal mining among other criminal activities in the Amazon jungle region. The move comes after the army earlier this year set up an infantry battalion in the region to patrol the country's 1,980km-long border with Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname, according to website Diálogo.

And in Venezuela, the prosecutors arrested Doarwin Evans, vice president of state mining company Minerven, for attempting to smuggle 2.5t gold out of the country, attorney general Tarek William Saab reportedly said. The move is part of a government operation dubbed manos de metal that has arrested nine people and issued 39 arrest orders to date, he said.