Title: Ecologies of Gold: Mercury and Informal Mining in Madre de Dios, Peru
Author/Institution: Jimena Diaz / University of California – PhD Dissertation
Publication Year: 2021
This dissertation provides a detailed ethnographic and political ecology analysis of mercury use in informal gold mining in Peru’s Madre de Dios region. By combining field interviews with spatial data, the study maps the intertwined dynamics of environmental harm, informal economies, and community dependence on mining income. It shows how informal mining is not an isolated activity but embedded in regional livelihood strategies, often tolerated by local authorities who rely on mining-linked patronage networks.
One of its key contributions is the framing of mercury not only as a pollutant but as a social vector connecting miners, traders, local elites, and transnational buyers. The dissertation traces how this commodity chain produces both short-term livelihoods and long-term health and environmental risks. The analysis highlights how fragmented governance—marked by weak enforcement and overlapping authorities—creates space for informal economies to persist and expand.
For LTO, the dissertation illustrates that in Amazonian regions, corporate or state-led formal mining ventures are judged against this informal baseline. Communities accustomed to weak enforcement and extractive patronage view new projects with suspicion. Tackling mercury use and strengthening formal institutions is thus not only an environmental imperative but a prerequisite for legitimate mining investment.
Issue Profile – Informal Gold Economies & Mercury in Madre de Dios
Lead Actor: Informal gold miners, regional traders, Peruvian state institutions
Focus: Mercury use in artisanal mining and governance fragmentation
Update (2021): Dissertation shows mercury as both pollutant and social connector across informal economies and weak governance
Strategic Significance: Demonstrates that legitimacy of formal mining depends on addressing ASM and governance gaps in Amazon regions