Peru exports more illegal gold than cocaine, and it’s the world’s biggest exporter of cocaine

Peru isn’t merely one of the world’s largest exporters of gold—it’s also one of its dirtiest.

The industry employs tens of thousands of child workers. In many cases, they are lured with promises of lucrative salaries and plush treatment, only to find themselves working far more hours than is legal and for a good deal less than minimum wage. To conceal their growing illegal workforce, mining companies have begun to pay workers under the table in gold, which the workers often end up having to sell at a discount, the report notes.

Peru’s mountainous geography and complex land regulations make such abuses hard to control. “Many of the mining camps lack a police presence and authorities lack the resources, and in some cases are afraid, to visit mines located deep within the dense Amazon jungle or on protected lands,” the report says.

It has been just as hard for Peru’s government to keep tabs on gold exports. It is alarmingly easy for small and large-scale miners alike to sell their dirty gold. Much of it is laundered by legitimate, large business, which then mix it in with legally produced gold exports. The result is an inseparable mass of bullion.

Read the full article at: QUARTZ