On 1st January, the most recent among a series of attacks on small-scale gold miners in the Andean country, at least three people were killed in an attack on informal miners on the outskirts of the Pataz district of northern Peru, local authorities and one of the mining firms said.
Mining company Poderosa reported that its security guards had gone to the location, as they heard gunshots, and discovered three dead bodies, which they believed had probably gotten through illegally to steal resources.
The mining company claimed that the police reported that there had been no kidnappings or people missing, as opposed to previous reports on TV by Pataz Mayor Aldo Marino, who reported that seven people had been reported missing by the police.
Marino alleged that other citizens in the vicinity had told him that the number of deaths could be more than the number.
On social media, local prosecutors announced that they had discovered 11 shell casings at the crime scene and that they were investigating. Poderosa reported that two individuals were arrested by the police.
The government officials were not available to comment on the attack, and the police did not confirm the attack.
Pataz has emerged as the largest gold-producing region in Peru due to the dominance of small-scale artisan or informal mines, which are allowed to operate on temporary government licenses known as REINFO.
Illegal miners, who, according to the police and the industry sources, steal the production of other miners working alongside criminal gangs, exploit thousands of permits.
In December, the government of Peru renewed the REINFO permits by one year, the fifth time in ten years. In July, it evicted over 50,000 small-scale miners off the scheme, which is over 50 percent, and retained only a little more than 30,000 to undergo a formalization process.
In 2024, Peru exported 15.5 billion dollars of gold, which is a sharp increase compared to the 11 billion that was reported the year before. It is estimated by the local industry and the financial watchdog of the country that about 40 percent is of illegal origin.
In May last year, police reported 13 miners killed in the same district as criminal gangs tried to expand their influence in the district.
