Peruvian Gold Mining Rush Brings Social And Environmental Stresses To Amazon

PUERTO MALDONADO, PERU - NOVEMBER 16: A shop that buys and sells gold stands in the capital of the Madre de Dios region, a boomtown located at the confluence of two rivers, on November 16, 2013 in Puerto Maldonado, Peru. The biologically diverse Madre de Dios ('Mother of God') region has seen deforestation from gold mining in the area triple since 2008, when gold prices spiked during global economic turmoil. Small-scale miners are drawn to the area in hopes for higher pay but often face abysmal conditions. Gold is usually amalgamated with mercury during the process of informal mining in the region, which is discharged into the water supply and air, poisoning fish and sickening people in the area. Peru is the largest producer of gold in Latin America and the sixth-largest in the world. Informal mining accounts for roughly 20 percent of the gold production in Peru. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)