Damage from Gold Mining in the Amazon - Madre de Dios, Peru

We used to think only big commercial mining operations could have a significant environmental impact.  These images gave us a schooling.  The cumulative impact from many small, artisanal mining operations can result in just as big a mess as a conventional open-pit mine.  As reported in The Guardian and captured on video by the Carnegie Institution for Science, mercury contamination from illegal and unregulated gold-mining sites in the Madre de Dios region of Peru is flowing downstream and polluting the water sources that indigenous people depend on: 
http://blog.skytruth.org/2013/10/damage-from-gold-mining-in-amazon-madre.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Skytruth+%28SkyTruth%29