The gold rush gained momentum with high ore prices on the international market after the financial crisis of 2008 and increased demand for jewelry in emerging countries such as India.
On 24 June, a Brazilian boatman was killed by a police officer, in the territory of French Guyana. He would be transporting clandestine products to a gold mine.
In addition to the violence, a lot of mercury flows from illegal gold mining. Extremely toxic substance to health, it is used to separate the gold from other materials, but ends up spreading in the environment, in the flesh of fish and other links of food chains.
To produce one kilogram of gold, the illegal miners come to use one kilogram of mercury. The WWF estimates that 30 tonnes of mercury are disposed in Guayana natural environment each year, including within protected areas and indigenous lands.
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