The Peruvian mining industry has a major problem globally known: most of it is illegal. And although the United States tries to take action against this scourge that affects the country and its people, fighting this problem won’t be easy.

A new report made by the US-based non-profit organization Verité, which Mining Examiner have already referred here, has led to the further promotion of programs like the No Dirty Gold campaign, which has the support of some high-end jewellers like Tiffany & Co and some mass marketers, such as Walmart.

However, many big companies and famous brands keep saying ‘no’ to such initiatives.

Thanks to illegal mining, some regions in Peru have been transformed into deserted landscapes with severe labor problems.

“The moonscape-like deforestation caused by the mining has grabbed national and foreign media attention, but the forced labor, violence, mercury exposure, disease and death in the camps has been largely ignored, except for occasional reports of underage girls rescued from brothels”, the Peru-based journalist Barbara Fraser wrote for The Guardian.

Facing these problems, the Peruvian government has created a multi-agency commission to study the situation and find a solution. Laws to bring the miners into the formal economy were passed, but the strong bureaucracy, consequent conflicts and huge corruption levels killed that effort. And now what? The country keeps waiting for an answer.