{{Short description|Mining without state permission}} {{cs1 config|name-list-style=vanc}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}} [[File:Illegal Mining, Peru, 2017-01-20 by Planet Labs.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of La Pampa gold mine's illegal expansion into Peru's Tambopata National Reserve. |alt=|upright=1.35]] '''Illegal mining''' is mining activity that is undertaken without state permission. Illegal mining is the extraction of precious metals/rocks without following the proper procedures to participate in legal mining activity. These procedures include permits and licenses for exploration of the land, mining and transportation,<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |date=2014-12-03 |title=Criminal offences: illicit trafficking |doi=10.18356/f6c93ebf-en |journal=United Nations }}</ref> as well as safety regulations concerning miners and other workers.
Unauthorized mining can be a subsistence activity, as is the case with artisanal mining, or it can belong to large-scale organized crime,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zabyelina |first1=Y. |last2=van Uhm |first2=D.P. |title=Illegal Mining: Organized Crime, Corruption, and Ecocide in a Resource-Scarce World |publisher=Palgrave |url=https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030463267 |access-date=May 16, 2020 |archive-date=November 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107170901/https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030463267 |url-status=live }}</ref> spearheaded by illegal mining syndicates.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last1=Sieber |first1=Nancy |last2=Brain |first2=Joseph |date=2014 |title=Health Impact of Artisanal Gold Mining in Latin America |url=https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/book/health-impact-artisanal-gold-mining-latin-america |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927050620/https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/book/health-impact-artisanal-gold-mining-latin-america |archive-date=September 27, 2020 |access-date=October 13, 2018 |website=ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America |publisher=Harvard University}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web |last1=Huerbsch |first1=Brian |last2=Spiro |first2=Jesse |date=2016 |title=Illegal Mining in South America and Financial Risk - Taking the Shine off Gold |url=https://risk.thomsonreuters.com/content/dam/openweb/documents/pdf/risk/white-paper/illegal-mining-in-south-america-and-financial-risk-taking-the-shine-off-gold.pdf |website=Thomson Reuters: Risk Management Solutions |publisher=Thomson Reuters |access-date=October 13, 2018 |archive-date=October 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013093221/https://risk.thomsonreuters.com/content/dam/openweb/documents/pdf/risk/white-paper/illegal-mining-in-south-america-and-financial-risk-taking-the-shine-off-gold.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> On an international level, approximately 80 percent of small-scale mining operations can be categorized as illegal.<ref>Hentschel, T., Hruschka, F., Priester, M. (2003). "Artisanal and small-scale mining: challenges and opportunities". International Institute for Environment and Development, London. http://pubs.iied.org/9268IIED/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921074505/http://pubs.iied.org/9268IIED/ |date=September 21, 2018 }}.</ref> Despite strategic developments towards "responsible mining," even big companies can be involved in illegal mineral digging and extraction, if only on the financing side.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/the-companies-accused-of-buying-latin-america-illegal-gold|title=The Companies Accused of Buying Latin America's Illegal Gold|author=Castilla|first1=Oscar|last2=Amancio|first2=Nelly|date=2015|website=InSight Crime|last3=Lopez|first3=Fabiola|access-date=March 4, 2016|archive-date=January 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103001151/http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/the-companies-accused-of-buying-latin-america-illegal-gold|url-status=live}}</ref>
Large-scale mining operations are owned by large companies and use advanced technology to extract metals such as open-pit mining.<ref name=":5">{{Citation |last1=Malone |first1=Mary |title=Transnational Organized Crime in Latin America |date=2014 |work=Transnational Organized Crime: An Overview from Six Continents |pages=57–74 |place=Thousand Oaks California |publisher=SAGE Publications, Inc. |last2=Malone-Rowe |first2=Christine |doi=10.4135/9781483349091.n4 |isbn=978-1-4522-9007-2 }}</ref> Artisanal small-scale mining operations are often labour-intensive because miners do not tend to use machinery to extract the metals.<ref name=":5"/> Informal mining occurs when artisanal small-scale mining operations proceed without the proper legal licenses.
These operations are still illegal but it is not an indictable offence in the same manner as illegal mining operations organized by criminal groups.<ref name=":5" /> Criminally organized illegal mining are often large-scale operations that violate all applicable laws.<ref name=":5" /> Organized crime groups lead and control illegal mining activity in extremely rural areas where the state does not have full jurisdiction over the land.<ref name=":8" /> Corruption in privately owned large-scale mining and artisanal small-scale mining operations occurs because the operations delegate their power to local authorities.<ref name=":8" />
== Environmental impacts == alt=HTML Plain text "Surface illegal mining shaft" by Siphetha is licensed under CC BY-SA 4|thumb|320x320px|Abandoned surface illegal mining shaft Certified mining causes less threat and destruction to the environment than illegal mining because the guidelines they are required to follow aim to preserve the environment while extracting resources. Illegal miners generally lack knowledge or simply do not care about the environment they are mining. Illegal mining can destroy ecosystems in a variety of ways.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bansah |first1=Kenneth Joseph |last2=Acquah |first2=Paul Junior |last3=Boafo |first3=Abigail |date=March 1, 2024 |title=Land, water, and forest degradation in artisanal and small-scale mining: Implications for environmental sustainability and community wellbeing |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420724001624 |journal=Resources Policy |volume=90 |article-number=104795 |doi=10.1016/j.resourpol.2024.104795 |bibcode=2024RePol..9004795B |s2cid=267534177 |issn=0301-4207 |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 11, 2024 |archive-date=April 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402200723/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301420724001624 |url-status=live }}</ref> One of the simplest methods is the creation large mining pits that are not back-filled when they are finished, causing many people and animals to die from these pits.{{Cn|date=January 2026}}
=== Water pollution=== Illegal gold mining operations often use heavy metals such as mercury and cyanide to extract gold from waste material. The mercury and cyanide leaches into the natural environment causing pollution.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Dalu |first1=Tatenda |last2=Dube |first2=Timothy |last3=Dondofema |first3=Farai |last4=Cuthbert |first4=Ross N. |date=October 2023 |title=Illegal mining impacts on freshwater Potamonautid crab in a subtropical Austral highland biosphere reserve |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0048969723038743 |journal=Science of the Total Environment |language=en |volume=896 |article-number=165251 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165251 |pmid=37414163 |bibcode= |s2cid=259352044 |url-access= |access-date=March 9, 2024 |archive-date=March 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302072854/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0048969723038743 |url-status=live }}</ref> Illegal miners often dump excess mercury into the nearby waterways for disposal.{{cn|date=January 2026}} Water pollution affects surrounding aquatic and land ecosystems due to the hydraulic cycle.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Koffi |first1=Kouakou Valentin |last2=Obuobie |first2=Emmanuel |last3=Banning |first3=Andre |last4=Wohnlich |first4=Stefan |date=February 2017 |title=Hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater and surface water for domestic and irrigation purposes in Vea catchment, Northern Ghana |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12665-017-6490-3 |journal=Environmental Earth Sciences |language=en |volume=76 |issue=4 |page=185 |doi=10.1007/s12665-017-6490-3 |bibcode=2017EES....76..185K |s2cid=133047395 |issn=1866-6280 |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 9, 2024 |archive-date=April 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402200746/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12665-017-6490-3 |url-status=live }}</ref> The polluted water is also used for irrigation of farmland and as drinking water, which further spreads pollution and leads to illness and death.<ref name=":2" /> alt="Illegal Gold mining Nigeria1" by Dame Yinka is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.|thumb|220x220px|Illegal artisanal small-scale gold mining in Nigeria
=== Deforestation === Deforestation is one of the primary problems caused by illegal mining. As forests are clear-cut and the ground is mined, ecosystems collapse due to habitat loss and carbon emissions increase drastically.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Bansah |first1=Kenneth Joseph |last2=Acquah |first2=Paul Junior |last3=Boafo |first3=Abigail |date=March 2024 |title=Land, water, and forest degradation in artisanal and small-scale mining: Implications for environmental sustainability and community wellbeing |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0301420724001624 |url-status=live |journal=Resources Policy |language=en |volume=90 |article-number=104795 |bibcode=2024RePol..9004795B |doi=10.1016/j.resourpol.2024.104795 |s2cid=267534177 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208044032/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0301420724001624 |archive-date=February 8, 2024 |access-date=March 9, 2024}}</ref> There have been many efforts to protect and rehabilitate forest ecosystems in recent years to prevent and limit the effects of deforestation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Siqueira-Gay |first1=Juliana |last2=Sánchez |first2=Luis E. |date=June 2021 |title=The outbreak of illegal gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon boosts deforestation |url=https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/srhreports/illegal-mining/illegal-mining/79 |journal=Regional Environmental Change |language=en |volume=21 |issue=2 |page=28 |doi=10.1007/s10113-021-01761-7 |bibcode=2021REnvC..21...28S |issn=1436-3798 |access-date=April 2, 2024 |archive-date=April 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402200732/https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/srhreports/illegal-mining/illegal-mining/79/ |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref>
=== Soil erosion and degradation === Deforestation by itself contributes to soil erosion since the roots of trees provide the soil with stability.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ranjan |first=Ram |date=March 2019 |title=Assessing the impact of mining on deforestation in India |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S030142071830401X |journal=Resources Policy |language=en |volume=60 |pages=23–35 |doi=10.1016/j.resourpol.2018.11.022 |bibcode=2019RePol..60...23R |s2cid=158975569 |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 9, 2024 |archive-date=April 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425073404/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S030142071830401X |url-status=live }}</ref> Illegal mining can also cause soil degradation. Removing topsoil affects the fertility of the soil and decreases the chance of restoring vegetation, toxic chemicals pollute soil to an extent where plants cannot grow, and large amounts of mining waste such as rock, sediment and soil that lacks nutrients are dumped onto the land, engulfing the fertile topsoil and stopping the growth of plants.<ref name=":3" /> Poorly contained mining tails are hazardous to the environment because there are no efforts to treat the soil to get rid of toxic chemicals. Soil erosion can also lead to natural hazards such as landslides due to loose soil and flooding.<ref name=":3" />
== Social impacts ==
=== Crime === Illegal mining is by its very nature a criminal activity, but is often linked to other criminal activities taking place in the same area. For example, organized crime groups such as drug cartels in Latin America realized the profitability of illegal mining and began to mine precious metals.<ref name=":5"/> These groups were able to get control of large amounts of land away from government surveillance. This allowed the cartels to earn a larger profit with lower risk, compared to the drug trade.<ref name=":5" /> Child labour is very common in the mines because children are trafficked and forced into work. Adults are also exploited, trafficked and forced to work in unsafe labour conditions.<ref name=":5" />
=== Farming === Illegal mining operations affect surrounding agriculture. For example, cocoa farming in Ghana is impacted by illegal mining activity because of land degradation and availability.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last1=Donkor |first1=Peter |last2=Siabi |first2=Ebenezer Kwadwo |last3=Frimpong |first3=Kwasi |last4=Frimpong |first4=Prince Twum |last5=Mensah |first5=Samuel Kofi |last6=Vuu |first6=Christopher |last7=Siabi |first7=Elikplim Sarah |last8=Nyantakyi |first8=Emmanuel Kwasi |last9=Agariga |first9=Felix |last10=Atta-Darkwa |first10=Thomas |last11=Mensah |first11=Jacob Kofi |date=April 2024 |title=Impacts of illegal Artisanal and small-scale gold mining on livelihoods in cocoa farming communities: A case of Amansie West District, Ghana |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0301420724002460 |journal=Resources Policy |language=en |volume=91 |article-number=104879 |doi=10.1016/j.resourpol.2024.104879 |bibcode=2024RePol..9104879D |s2cid=268100719 |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 9, 2024 |archive-date=March 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322013520/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0301420724002460 |url-status=live }}</ref> There is less available land for farming causing competition and higher costs for farmers. The illegal miners trespass through farmland to construct roads through farms, destroying the cocoa trees in the process.<ref name=":6" /> They also mine on the farmland, causing many farmers to die due to falling into the pits.<ref name=":4" /> Illegal mining operations cause flooding with polluted water that affects the maturation of the cocoa pods, depletes soil fertility, increases erosion, and degrades the farmer's ability to grow cocoa trees.<ref name=":6" />
=== Malaria === Abandoned open-pit mines fill up with stagnant or slow-moving water where mosquitoes can breed and their larvae can grow.<ref name=":7" /> This can cause an increase in the mosquito population which can increase the spread of malaria.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Rozo |first=Sandra V. |date=December 2020 |title=Unintended effects of illegal economic activities: Illegal gold mining and malaria |url=https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/srhreports/illegal-mining/illegal-mining/29 |journal=World Development |language=en |volume=136 |article-number=105119 |doi=10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105119 |access-date=April 2, 2024 |archive-date=December 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207165341/https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/srhreports/illegal-mining/illegal-mining/29/ |url-status=live }}</ref> When illegal mining operations abandon their pits, there is no way for local authorities to track and prevent the open pits to decrease the spread.<ref name=":7" /> Illegal miners may also not take proper precautions to protect themselves when mining, increasing the risk of transmission.<ref name=":7" />
==Regional issues==
=== Sub-Saharan Africa === Spurred by widespread poverty and a lack of alternative income-earning opportunities, illegal artisanal mining is a well-documented phenomenon in sub-Saharan Africa. While legalization opportunities for artisanal and small-scale mining are often available, inefficient government bureaucracy structures can make noncompliance more appealing for workers. In addition, to attract foreign investment, many governments in sub-Saharan Africa have loosened national mining investment codes. An expansion of large-scale mining projects fuelled by foreign investment has displaced rural mining communities, many of which revert to illegal mining on concessions given to the formal mining sector.<ref>Banchirigah, Sadia. (2008). "Challenges with eradicating illegal mining in Ghana: A perspective from the grassroots". ''Resources Policy'', '''33'''(1), 29–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2007.11.001 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402200751/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301420707000724?via%3Dihub |date=April 2, 2024 }}.</ref> Some countries have responded to these issues - for example, Ghana launched Operation Vanguard in 2017 to restrain illegal artisanal mining in Ghana.
=== Latin America === {{further|illegal mining in Chile|illegal mining in Peru}} Latin America is home to the Amazon rainforest which contains many ecosystems.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last=Barron |first=Manuel |date=2020-01-01 |title=Business training programs and microenterprise formalization in Peru |journal=Cogent Economics & Finance |volume=8 |issue=1 |article-number=1791546 |doi=10.1080/23322039.2020.1791546 |issn=2332-2039|hdl=10419/269941 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Illegal mining causes deforestation of this protected rainforest. The use of mercury in illegal mining contaminates the soil, water and air, harming surrounding communities and the wildlife living in the forest.<ref name=":9" /> In Latin America, the illegal mining population is more likely to be infected with malaria since they are more vulnerable when they are mining deep in the rainforest.<ref name=":9" />
Illegal mining operations are often located in remote areas, making it more difficult to enforce mining standards. Furthermore, mining requirements can vary substantially from region to region, further complicating adherence with labor laws, environmental regulations, and tax legislation.<ref name=":1" /> Emissions of mercury originating in artisanal mining, most of which is unregulated and illegal, are substantial, contributing to 37 percent of the atmospheric mercury emitted annually.<ref name=":0" />
While drug trafficking has historically been a prominent criminal enterprise, lower risks associated with illegal mining have propelled a shift toward lucrative illegal gold mining operations. In order to transfer illegal gold into the marketplace, criminal actors sometimes attempt to mask its illicit origins by melting together processed legal and illegal gold. This gold laundering task is generally facilitated by middlemen who falsify documentation to ease the transition into the legitimate international marketplace.<ref name=":1" />
The 2020–2022 COVID-19 pandemic caused an increase in illegal mining in Latin America, due to the disruption of precious metal supplies caused by anti-Covid measures in legal mines, increased gold prices, and a surge in unemployment.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=La minería ilegal como mecanismo de vulneración a los derechos ambientales en Latinoamérica durante tiempos de pandemia |journal=Revista Justicia & Derecho |last=Prince Torres |first=Ángel Carmelo |url= |volume=6 |issue=2 |trans-title=Illegal mining as a mechanism of violation to environmental rights in Latin America during times of pandemic |language=es|year=2023}}</ref>
=== India === {{Excerpt|Illegal mining in India}}
=== Nigeria === Nigeria is rich in precious metals, attracting foreign mining enterprises.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last1=Olujobi |first1=Olusola Joshua |last2=Irumekhai |first2=Oshobugie Suleiman |date=January 2024 |title=Strategies and regulatory measures for Combatting illicit mining operations in Nigeria: A comprehensive legal perspective |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301420723011704 |url-status=live |journal=Resources Policy |volume=88 |bibcode=2024RePol..8804459O |doi=10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.104459 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322231203/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301420723011704 |archive-date=March 22, 2024 |access-date=March 22, 2024}}</ref> This causes violence and conflict between the local and foreign illegal miners in some parts of Nigeria. The Nigerian government does not have the funds, capacity or authority needed to enforce the law that prohibits illegal mining<ref name=":10" /> and the government cannot profit from the illegal extraction of metals.<ref name=":10" /> The vastness of Nigeria also means that illegal mining operations can occur in remote locatios without the government having any knowledge of it.<ref name=":10" />
=== Ghana === In Ghana, the government has put together a task force to remove all illegal mining operations due to the environmental problems it has caused.<ref name=":11">{{Cite journal |last1=Eduful |first1=Michael |last2=Alsharif |first2=Kamal |last3=Eduful |first3=Alexander |last4=Acheampong |first4=Michael |last5=Eduful |first5=Joyce |last6=Mazumder |first6=Lubana |date=October 2020 |title=The Illegal Artisanal and Small-scale mining (Galamsey) 'Menace' in Ghana: Is Military-Style Approach the Answer? |journal=Resources Policy |volume=68 |article-number=101732 |doi=10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101732 |bibcode=2020RePol..6801732E |issn=0301-4207}}</ref> The environmental and water quality deterioration caused the President of Ghana to make a press release explaining the urgency and need for public support to aid in fixing the problem.<ref name=":11" />
Illegal mining operations in Ghana have contributed to the reduction of poverty. Illegal mining is an employment option for men and women with no education and it is an easy way to make quick money.<ref name=":11" /> The government is offering alternative sources of income in the agricultural field.<ref name=":11" /> Illegal miners will continue to make money once their mine is shut down or change jobs to work an agricultural job that is much safer and legal.<ref name=":11" />
==See also== * Artisanal mining * Blood diamond * Bootleg mining * Mining law * Sand theft * Galamsey
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Illegal mining Category:Environmental crime Category:Mining and the environment Category:Criminal occupations Category:Organized crime activity