Non Ethical Arstisanal/Informal Mining
The Peruvian Government has taken strong steps towards an ethical and environmental friendly resources sector. Recently, US zinc, copper and lead smelter, Doe Run has been expelled from Peru due to lack of compliance with its environmental programme in La Oroya. Larger mining firms in Peru today operate under strict environmental standards. However, there is resistance from small scale artisanal miners, many of which are operating illegally.
Artisanal small scale mining has boomed in recent years due to high commodity prices and these operations destroy the local ecosystems by clearing trees and many of them use large amounts of poisonous mercury in their daily operations. After years of this activity this has caused a higher than accepted mercury levels in the water system and over 18,000ha of forest being lost.
Social Impacts of Artisanal Mining
Artisanal mining operations are usually operated with a lack of resourced and ignorance or non compliance with safety regulations. The lack of information and insufficient equipment for artisanal miners significantly increases the probability if work accidents compared to the formal sector.
Child labour is very common in artisanal mining areas due to their parent’s low incomes and the low income levels of artisanal miners. According to a study by the International Labor Organization 2001 there were 200,000 artisanal miners in Peru, of which 50,000 were children. In these mining communities there is a lack of infrastructure including educational facilities which makes children more available to for work in the informal mines.
Out Of Peru’s designers only buy minerals and metals from the formal mining sector. Please see our ethical policies for more.
Artisanla Mining Opertion in Peru
Artisanal Mining Village
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