The Modern Peruvian Gold Rush Challenge

Even after half a millennium of the plundering of gold and silver, the former Inca territories remain abundantly rich in gold and silver. Numerous mining companies are legally extracting the precious metals under increasing, appropriate scrutiny by the government authorities. However, there are thousands of small-time, illegal miners operating deep in the interior lands who are causing serious environmental damages. Their numbers overwhelm the capacity of the regional and central government to regulate them while there may be corruption that causes these same authorities to look the other way. Such oversights could also be motivated by compassion. The thought might be, “Why not let my friend or neighbor profit too?” Whatever the motivation, there appears to be, as this article in the Sacramento Bee points out, serious environmental damage occurring due to unregulated, illegal mining that is endangering a most precious natural resource, clean water. When and how this challenge is effectively addressed is only a guess. See http://sacbee.com/2012/12/09/5040004/stuart-levenworth-in-the-rain.html