By El Diario:

Gold Mining Expands Across Bolivia’s Regions

• The expansion of cooperative and informal gold mining has intensified the use of mercury in the amalgamation process, with devastating consequences for rivers and ecosystems across different regions of the country.

Illegal gold mining is expanding unchecked in Bolivia, triggering some of the country’s most serious environmental, socioeconomic, and public health crises. Driven by high international gold prices, this activity is spreading at an alarming rate due to the State’s logistical limitations and recent institutional regulatory relaxations.

According to reports from specialized organizations, mining operations are concentrated heavily in the Amazon region, particularly in northern La Paz, Beni, and Pando. They have also expanded significantly into the department of Potosí, including northern Potosí, Tupiza, and Villazón.

Dredgers remove thousands of tons of sediment, destroying areas that were previously used for agriculture and replacing them with vast stretches of stone. They also use large quantities of mercury, contaminating water sources and fish. This directly threatens the health of Indigenous communities in the Amazon, ANA Bolivia warned.

Heavy machinery is also destroying areas of exceptional ecological value, including Madidi National Park, the Pilón Lajas Biosphere Reserve, Apolobamba, and Cotapata.

Furthermore, investigations have uncovered concealed partnerships between local gold-mining cooperatives and foreign companies. These alliances bypass oversight by the Mining Administrative Jurisdictional Authority (AJAM), according to the news outlet laregion.bo.