Close to 80% of all the gold produced in Colombia comes from illegal miners, according to recent data unveiled by the country’s government.
Speaking to Blu Radio (in Spanish) the Comptroller General of the Republic, Edgardo Maya Villazón, said the $2.5 billion illicit mining industry is creating a parallel economy that is deemed to damage the business of those who operate legally.
Illicit miners, which are present in 233 Colombian municipalities, have caused the deforestation of 16,784 hectares (65 sq. miles) of old-growth —or primary— forest and contaminated at least 19 rivers in 2014, data from the Environment and Sustainable Development Ministry shows.
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