Colombian Security Forces Dismantle Illegal Mine in the Amazon  

The Colombian security forces closed 2022 dealing a major blow to illegal mining and the activities of transnational criminal organizations in the jungles of the department of Guainía, in the Colombian Amazon, after finding a large illicit gold mining area. Authorities estimated that the quantity of gold obtained from this site amounted to some $120,000 per month on the illegal market, the Army said in a late November 2022 statement.   

Army troops of the Command against Drug Trafficking and Transnational Threats, the 28th Brigade, and the 8th Division, as well as troops of the Navy, the Colombian Air Force, with the support of the National Police carried out two operations as part of Plan Perseus (Plan Perseo).  

 The illicit gold mining area that authorities found was more than 4 kilometers long. On site, troops destroyed six illegal mining production units, 3,000 meters of hoses, and other tools used in illegal mining, which were valued at more than $12,500.

 Navy river units patrolling on the Inírida River dealt the second blow when they located a boat carrying 10 engines, 28 rotors, and other tools used in illegal gold mining. “The Brigade against Illegal Mining [BRCMI] is in charge of coordinating with other forces and with all state entities to carry out joint operations, always acting under the unified action concept,” Colombian Army Colonel Edisson Orlando Ríos Orrego, BRCMI commander, told Diálogo. 

The Navy also set up checkpoints with Marine Infantry battalions to patrol the rivers and obtain intelligence, Col. Ríos said. A lot of this illegal mining is done in alluvial deposits, which affects the main rivers.  

Illegal gold mining destroys the rainforest, contributes to indiscriminate logging, contaminates rivers with waste resulting from the use of chemicals, the Army said in a statement. “It is estimated that more than 30 years will have to pass to recover the ground cover of the area, but the environmental damage is irreparable because the excavations reached a depth of 12 meters, creating sediment and mud lagoons that have reduced soil fertility and, therefore, hinder the germination of new plants.” 

“The illegal exploitation of mining deposits is a factor of instability that disturbs public order, […] criminal groups place these units in very isolated areas,” Col. Ríos added. “Our main challenge is to be able to have control to carry out constant and recurring reconnaissance on our main rivers and in these isolated areas […] not only to conduct an operation, but also to guarantee that these events are not carried out again.”  

According to a July 2022 report by the Comptroller General of Colombia, 85 percent of the gold that Colombia exports comes from illegal mining, and 66 percent of illegal mining in Colombia is done in preserved areas, natural parks, and forest reserves. In a February 2022 report, the Organization of American States indicated that more than 70 percent of the gold extracted from Colombia is produced by illegal armed groups. 

“In comparison with the illicit cocaine business, where a kilogram of coca can be valued in the Colombian market at around $1,050, a kilogram of illegal gold is in the order of $52,000, which has caused this business to skyrocket, and today it is contaminating in a critical way, not only the Atrato River in Chocó [department], but also many other rivers, which benefits only four or five large criminal organizations,” Comptroller Delegate for the Environment Gabriel Adolfo Jurado said.  

Throughout 2022, up to December 22, the BRCMI dealt several blows to illegal mining such as the seizure and destruction of 349 illegal dredges, 49 mineshafts, 440 mining production units, 201 illegal construction equipment, 26 sorting machines, 46 large floating machines, more than 1,000 engines, and 453 motor pumps. Likewise, the BRCMI seized more than 1.9 million liters of fuel, 20 kg of mercury, and 11 kg of explosives, Col. Ríos concluded.