Mining-Technology Interviews Steve Sapienza About the True Cost of Gold

In Peru, a country with a 30 percent poverty rate, informal gold mining has offered a third of a million Peruvians a chance to make a living. With few government regulations on mining, rising gold prices, and new miners joining the hunt for gold each day, Peru faces growing environmental, health, and security challenges as a result of this informal or small-scale mining.
While in Madre de Dios, Sapienza reported on the wanton environmental destruction caused by unrestricted, wildcat gold mining in one of the most pristine virgin rainforests on earth. It is the story of Peruvian law enforcement, concerned scientists, and local NGOs, who face near impossible odds in their attempts to halt the deforestation and deadly mercury pollution caused by illegal gold mining in the region.
http://pulitzercenter.org/blog/south-america-peru-sapienza-cost-gold-tarnished-mine