In Venezuela, Indigenous Communities’ Struggles With Mining Are Far From Over

You'll also notice small mining excavations along with different people – both indigenous and non-indigenous – removing bits of earth and water with their trays in order to see if they can find any grams of gold. Mining activity has left its mark. “All of the water from the Caura is contaminated,” says Saúl López, an indigenous speaker and member of the Kuyujani Organization, referring to a study that the organization helped the La Salle Foundation and the Universidad de Oriente perform between 2011 and 2012 in which high levels of mercury were found in Ye'kuana women.
https://globalvoices.org/2016/10/21/in-venezuela-indigenous-communities-struggles-with-mining-are-far-from-over/