Environmental damage by Illegal mining in northwest Colombia “worst in history”
Environmental damage by Illegal mining in northwest Colombia “worst in history”
May 8, 2014 posted by Tim Hinchliffe
Environmental authorities have warned that damage caused by illegal gold mining in the northwestern state of Risaralda is the worst in the history of the region, local media reported on Thursday.
According to the government’s Regional Autonomous Corporation of Risaralda (CADER), illegal gold mining operations by private companies have left pools of cyanide and mercury along the countryside twice the size of an Olympic swimming pool and have devastated local communities, Caracol Radio reported.
As a result of negligence by the private mining companies, the pollution of the Aguita River in the state’s west has killed off the fish population and caused damage to the trees as well as local wildlife over the past three months.
According to Caracol, water-pumping machines designed to extract gold have been placed every 55 yards along the river resulting in the dumping of toxic chemicals into the river.
More:
http://colombiareports.co/illegal-gold-mining-devastating-effects-nw-colombia/#prettyPhoto