Alluvial mining, in which small gold flecks are sifted out of sandy sediments deposited by runoff from the Andes over centuries, is heavily dependent on mercury and the surrounding jungle has been poisoned by tons of the toxic metal.
A researcher for the Peruvian Environmental Rights Society, Lenin Valencia, says raids alone aren't enough to dislodge illegal miners.
"There is slowness in the criminal justice system to prosecute the chain" of businesses that extract the gold, which ends up being bought in U.S. and Swiss markets.
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