Around a thousand Peruvian soldiers and police officers destroyed seven and seized thirteen boats used by illegal gold miners in the Peruvian Amazon, reports the AFP. The move is seen as a first strike against the environmentally destructive mining. Used to pump silt up from the river-bed, the boats are essential tools of the illegal gold mining trade which is booming in parts of the Amazon.
Along the Inambari River in southeastern Peru, illegal gold miners clear floodplain forests and blast riverbanks looking for gravel deposits that may hold the precious metal. When found the gold is amalgamated with toxic mercury, which often ends up in the river, contaminating fish. According to Peru’s Environment Minister fish in the area have mercury levels that are three times higher than the amount approved by the World Health Organization.
Furthermore, from the government’s perspective, it cannot tax the illegal mining operations, even when miners strike it rich.
The illegal gold trade also produces numerous social problems, according to the BBC, including drug trafficking, indentured labor, and child prostitution.
The operation, the first of its kind in Peru, aims to destroy 300 large pieces of mining equipment on the Inambari River.
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