Illegal miners clear rainforest, dredge riverbeds and leave behind toxic wastelands contaminated with mercury and cyanide.
read more... https://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/2026/05/16/amazon-rain-forest-latest-updates/
Illegal miners clear rainforest, dredge riverbeds and leave behind toxic wastelands contaminated with mercury and cyanide.
read more... https://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/2026/05/16/amazon-rain-forest-latest-updates/
The environmental damage compounds the security threat. Illegal miners in the region use mercury to process gold, a heavy metal that seeps into soil and waterways, threatening both ecosystems and the communities that depend on them for drinking water.
read more... https://ticotimes.net/2026/05/15/costa-rica-moves-to-jail-illegal-miners-for-a-decade-as-gold-crisis-deepens
Illegal gold mining produces mercury and cyanide that then runs off into Ghana’s water system, with devastating consequences for both human health and the environment.