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A surge in unlawful mining has led to the destruction of 140,000 hectares of rainforest in the Amazon region of Peru, accelerating as armed foreign factions move into the region to profit from all-time high gold values, based on findings.

Roughly 540 square miles of land have been cleared for mining in the South American country since 1984, and the ecological damage is spreading rapidly throughout Peru, analysis found.

This mining boom is also poisoning its waterways. Unlawful extractors use floating excavation machines – equipment that disrupt and displace river bottoms – depositing toxic mercury used to extract gold from sediment in their path.

Detailed satellite photographs allowed analysts to detect mining equipment together with deforestation for the first time, revealing that the ecological disaster previously limited to the south of the country was creeping northward.

“Initially, it was only observed in Madre de Dios but now we’re seeing it across numerous areas,” stated a director involved in the research.

Gold values topped $4,000 for the first time this week on global exchanges as global anxiety increased about financial fragility. Indigenous groups have raised concerns that as the value climbs, militant factions were increasingly tearing down their woodlands and contaminating their rivers in pursuit of the precious metal.

Satellite photos show that previously lush forest areas are being converted into lifeless moonscapes of grey earth marked by standing water of discolored water.

“This small section is just a tiny sample,” a researcher remarked, pointing to a limited area of the extensive pattern of deforestation documented in the study. “Consider this multiplied to 140,000 hectares.”

Mercury contamination build up in aquatic life and pass to the people who eat them, leading to neurological and developmental problems such as birth defects and developmental delays.

An ongoing investigation of communities along riverbanks in Peru’s northernmost region of Loreto found the average concentration of mercury was almost quadruple the World Health Organization’s recommended limit.

Research found that 225 rivers and streams have been affected, with nearly a thousand dredging machines spotted in Loreto since 2017 – including 275 in the current year on the Nanay waterway, a branch of the Amazon that is the vital source of ecosystems and dozens of Indigenous communities.

“They are poisoning our rivers – it’s the drinking water that we consume,” said a spokesperson of multiple local communities in the area.

Residents began blocking miners from moving along the River Tigre in the region 40 days ago, leading to gunfights with militant groups. “We have no choice but to fight back but we are alone. The state is absent,” he expressed with anger.

Extraction activities is mostly located in the Madre de Dios region in the south of the country but new hotspots are developing farther north in multiple provinces.

These areas are limited but once mining is established it could grow rapidly, a researcher noted, stating that the study was a insight into what was occurring across the rest of the Amazon.

“This is the first time we’ve been able to examine so closely at a country but I think in neighboring countries we are going to see exactly the same thing,” he commented.

Findings showed additional mining equipment appearing on Peru’s forest borders with Bolivia, Brazil and Colombia.

With gold prices surpassing $4,000 an ounce, foreign, armed groups are more frequently entering into Peruvian territory into unregulated forest areas where government officials are taking minimal action to stop them, according to an expert on crime.

Illegal organizations, such as factions from neighboring countries, are more involved in the region.

“International crime networks trafficking cocaine and concealing illicit gains through unlawful extraction – now with peak prices providing hefty returns – are combined with a government that has failed to act decisively against criminal enterprises,” the analyst stated.

An intergovernmental group of South American countries told Peru to get serious about unlawful extraction or it could face economic sanctions.

But a researcher commented: “The returns from gold are immense at present. There are no indications of prices going down, so it’s probably going to deteriorate before it gets better.”