Peru and Ecuador ramp up crackdown on illegal mining

In Peru, the Observatorio de Minería Ilegal warns that the first 100 days of the incoming administration will be pivotal. It has put forward ten proposals aimed at curbing a $11.5 billion illegal‑mining economy, including closing the REINFO registry, imposing criminal and civil liability on miners operating in prohibited zones, banning mercury by 2030, and launching a traceability system (SIPMMA). The plan is directed at presidential candidates Keiko Fujimori and Roberto Sánchez.

The Arequipa regional government has unveiled the Chaparra Mining‑Metallurgical Park, a pilot project intended to formalise more than 15,000 artisanal miners and provide regulated processing facilities. Governor Rohel Sánchez called for an integrated state policy that combines financial intelligence, territorial control, environmental oversight and anti‑money‑laundering measures.

In Caravelí, police conducting operation “Impacto 2026” seized 825 explosives, 66 primers and 23 rifle casings from the Patricia‑Karina mining concession, confiscating the material for further investigation.

Meanwhile, Ecuadorian armed forces destroyed 21 illegal‑mining camps in Imbabura province, damaging infrastructure valued at over $130,000. The operation forms part of President Daniel Noboa’s declaration of an internal armed conflict aimed at dismantling criminal networks tied to both narcotrafficking and illegal mining.