Greenpeace traces $3.9bn 'ghost-permit' gold laundering as illegal mining spreads in Peru's Amazon
Brazilian artisanal permits laundered 25 tonnes of gold from likely-illegal sites; mercury contamination pushes deeper into Cusco and Puno
Summary
A Greenpeace Brasil report (1 June 2026) showed how Brazil's artisanal-mining permits
(garimpo PLGs) launder gold: 98 irregular permits moved a declared 25.3 tonnes
worth R$18.4bn ($3.88bn) between 2018 and March 2026, with 94% classed as "ghost" or industrial-scale
operations, much of it from Indigenous lands and protected areas. Because Brazilian law requires no
prior geological survey, any declared tonnage passes as clean. In Peru, MAAP satellite data put
gold-mining deforestation at 139,169 hectares by mid-2025 (97.5% in Madre de Dios), now spreading into
Cusco and Puno as enforcement scatters miners. Mercury contamination of rivers and Indigenous
communities accelerates with record gold prices.
By the numbers
- 25.3 tonnes, gold laundered via 98 irregular Brazilian permits (2018-March 2026).
- ~$3.88bn (R$18.4bn), declared value of that laundered gold.
- 94%, share of those permits classed as "ghost" or industrial-scale.
- 139,169 ha, Peruvian Amazon gold-mining deforestation by mid-2025 (97.5% Madre de Dios).
Why it matters
Record gold prices make illegal mining the Amazon's most lucrative extractive crime, and the permit system turns regulatory gaps into a laundering pipeline that reaches global refiners. Mercury poisons rivers and Indigenous food chains; enforcement displaces rather than stops the miners.
What to watch
- Whether Brazil's ANM tightens permit verification or Lula's government acts on the report.
- Peru's response as mining spreads into Cusco and Puno river corridors.
- Mercury smuggling routes (from Mexico) feeding artisanal extraction.