The price of gold is sensitive to crisis, but can itself be the cause of turmoil, especially in an environmental context.
During the past year and a half of the global pandemic, the gold price reached historic heights. As a result, an artisanal gold-mining boom swept the world, notably in countries that are but resource-rich.
From African states like Ghana or the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Indonesia in Asia, dangerous and often deadly illegal gold-mining has flourished.
Some criminal narcotics gangs are even said to have dropped the drug trade and are concentrating on artisanal gold mining because of its higher profitability.
Despite a global illegal gold-mining trend, its impact might be nowhere near as consequential and devastating for the climate as it is right now in Latin America.
Particularly at risk is one rainforest region in Peru, the 85,301 km² larger Madre de Dios region, which has suffered vast losses.
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