BOGOTA, (Reuters) – The number of hectares used for alluvial gold production in Colombia fell 2% in 2021, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said yesterday, adding that just over a third of affected locations were in areas also important for growing coca, the chief ingredient in cocaine.
About 65% of alluvial output last year was illegal.
The area affected by alluvial gold production fell to 98,567 hectares (243,564 acres) last year, down from 100,752 hectares in 2020, the UNODC said in a press conference.
The decline from 2020, where 69% of alluvial gold production was illegal, follows seizures of machinery and arrests, the UNODC added.
Large-scale illegal gold production by crime gangs, leftist rebels and others – whether along waterways or underground – causes grave environmental damage in one of the world’s most biodiverse countries and negatively affects output by licensed companies.
Where illegal gold mining and coca crops converge is a cause for concern, the UNODC said in a report.
“We’re concerned by the convergence of illicit economies in some municipalities where illicit crops are also grown and where the quality of life and of its inhabitants is marked by poverty and low development rates,” said Brian Harris, head of anti-narcotics and law enforcement affairs section at the U.S. embassy in Bogota.
Around 88% of alluvial gold output takes place in the provinces of Choco, Antioquia and Bolivar, the UNODC said.
Though the number of hectares affected by alluvial gold production has declined, producers are excavating deeper at alluvial sites, the UNODC said, with some craters descending more than 20 meters.
Around half the hectares affected are located in zones where mining is prohibited, such as forest reserves, increasing damage to the environment.
