A captivating image of the Peruvian Amazon from space has become a striking reminder of the desolation that gold mines have caused in the region.
The breathtaking photo, captured by a NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station, shows two parallel yet different rivers – one natural and one man-made – meandering through what was once a thriving rainforest. Now, however, illegal mining has taken over much of the gold reserves of the South American country and in the process destroyed more than 250,000 hectares of forest.
To the left of the photo is the pointed Inambari River, but it is the scene on the right that attracts attention with a winding canal illuminated by miles of gold art.
The rare picture required cloudless weather conditions, and that the sun cast its light at a very specific angle, called the ‘glitter point’, to create the brilliant effect.
The independent miners, called garimperos, is responsible for the shiny belt over the iconic Amazon rainforest. In search of a better life, they descended on Madre de Dios in Peru, where a gold rush has taken hold since the 1980s, followed by a rise in the precious metal. The country is the sixth largest producer of gold in the world. In 2017, one study estimated that approximately 155 tons were removed from the Peruvian Amazon.
Their zealous pursuit of wealth left a cemetery with wildlife and tropical vegetation contaminated with mercury – a by-product of the gold mining process. The sludge was so rich that one could forge as much as 10 to 15 grams of gold per day. According to Nasdaq, gold is just over $ 1,800 an ounce, or about $ 64.50 a gram.
For years, the lawless La Pampa, a center of the hostile illegal mining industry, was known for its support of ‘prostitution, modern-day slavery, and organized crime,’ and had long been largely inaccessible to outsiders, according to a 2020 Nature report. Scientists and land authorities could only watch from a satellite’s distance how large rainforests are being mowed down for superficial examination.
In 2019, the Peruvian government declared martial law in the region and expelled tens of thousands of miners who relied on work to earn their living. Since then, conservation biologists have begun working with Peru to investigate which tree species can survive the now harsh ecosystem.