ALLUVIAL GOLD MINING IN PERU

This is a case in which demand for earning a living has outgrown all possible economic and social planning available in developing countries. Politicians have proved quite behind in their capabilities to build peaceful social groups. This is not new, of course, but it is sad to see that human beings are the only animals "who trip against the same rock, over and over". Alluvial off site mining is so common in this part of the world that the best way to organize it is to conceive and apply strong governmente regulations, something that has been already unsuccesfully tried several times. It is imperative to study everything that has not worked before and make the necessary corrections. Points to consider in this revision are:

 a. HISTORY. Mining is a risky business in developing countries, because it unfolds in remote areas inhabited by impoverished peasants historically oppressed into servitude by violence who are recently being permeated by civilized take off gimmicks like TV and mobiles. History has yet to conceive ways and means to peacefully gain their trust and confidence and coalesce. 

b. GEOLOGY. It will be much easier to assign mining plots if gold distribution is potentially assessed in order to determine mining areas.. 

c. MINING. It will be necessary to organize mining in a grid fashion, so that deforestation is orderly done considering square mining plots. Once ore is completely (?) removed, reforestation will start and ground will be completely restored.

d. ORE PROCESSING. One of the reasons why illegal miners affect so much ground is their technological negligence. This is not their fault. They must be taught the right way of doing it It takes a technical methodology to recover gold from ore, taking care of cautiously recovering commercial value and properly treating and disposing of tailings. Properly designed and implemented, modular hydrometallurgical processing plants either with mercury or cyanide with Merryl Crowe or activated carbon for recovery must be constructed. Modules of, at least, 1,000TPD head ore, seem appropriate. Ponds for sedimentation and detailed closure disposal for tailings will have to be considered.This takes considerable CAPEX that few private investors are willing to take, specially with the flawed regulatory frame involved. 

e. COMMERCIALIZATION . Gold global marketing needs a strong networking organization that needs to be structured. This aspect might be easily solved with the right partnering. 

This leaves the government as the only subject to face the problem. . But government lacks the motivation to do it because their non discretionary management style restrain them to plunge into risky projects. Building an efficient public organization to face the different and necessarily aligned aspects is needed, but this looks as an impossible dream so far. Meanwhile, peruvians will bear the cost of living with this misfortune and relying on their strenghts on other issues such as tourism, gastronomy and folklore.