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An illegal gold rush has led to the destruction of one hundred forty thousand hectares of tropical forest in the Peruvian Amazon, intensifying as foreign, armed groups move into the area to capitalize on all-time high gold values, according to a report.

Roughly five hundred forty square miles of territory have been cleared for mining in the South American country since the mid-1980s, and the ecological damage is spreading rapidly throughout Peru, investigations found.

The gold rush is also polluting its rivers and streams. Illegal miners use dredges – equipment that chew up and spit out riverbeds – leaving toxic mercury employed to separate gold from sediment in their path.

Detailed satellite photographs allowed analysts to identify mining equipment together with deforestation for the initial instance, revealing that the environmental crisis once confined to the southern part of the country was spreading northward.

“We used to only see it in the Madre de Dios region but now we’re seeing it across numerous areas,” stated an official involved in the research.

Gold values surpassed four thousand dollars for the first time this week on global exchanges as worldwide concerns increased about financial fragility. Native communities have sounded the alarm that as the value climbs, militant factions were increasingly destroying their woodlands and poisoning their water sources in search for the precious metal.

Aerial images show that previously lush forest areas are being converted into lifeless moonscapes of grey earth marked by stagnant pools of green water.

“This little square is just a minor example,” an expert remarked, pointing to a limited area of the extensive pattern of forest clearance documented in the study. “Imagine this multiplied to 140,000 hectares.”

Mercury contamination build up in aquatic life and pass to the populations who consume them, leading to health and cognitive issues such as congenital disorders and developmental delays.

A recent study of communities along riverbanks in Peru’s far north of Loreto found the median level of mercury was nearly four times the World Health Organization’s recommended limit.

Analysis found that 225 rivers and streams have been affected, with nearly a thousand dredging machines spotted in the region since recent years – including 275 in the current year on the Nanay River, a tributary of the Amazon that is the lifeblood of ecosystems and many native populations.

“They are poisoning our rivers – it’s the water that we drink,” said a spokesperson of several riverside communities in Loreto.

Residents began blocking miners from moving along the River Tigre in Loreto 40 days ago, resulting in gunfights with militant groups. “We are forced to defend ourselves but we are alone. The state is nowhere to be seen,” he stated frustrated.

Mining remains concentrated in the Madre de Dios region in the south of the country but new hotspots are appearing in northern regions in multiple provinces.

They are small but once mining is established it could expand quickly, an expert noted, adding that the report was a glimpse into what was occurring across the broader Amazon region.

“This is the first time we’ve been able to look in this detail at a country but I think in Brazil, Bolivia and Colombia we are going to see similar patterns,” he added.

Findings showed additional mining equipment being detected on Peru’s jungle frontiers with adjacent nations.

With gold prices surpassing $4,000 an ounce, foreign, armed groups are more frequently entering across the border into Peru’s lawless jungles where government officials are doing little to halt their activities, as stated by a criminologist.

Criminal networks, such as factions from neighboring countries, are increasingly active across the border.

“Global criminal syndicates trafficking cocaine and concealing illicit gains through illegal gold mining – now with peak prices providing hefty returns – are alongside a government that has failed to act decisively against organised crime,” the analyst remarked.

A political coalition of Latin American nations told Peru to address unlawful extraction or it could be subject to penalties.

But a researcher commented: “The returns from gold are immense right now. There are no indications of a decline in value, so it’s probably going to get worse before it improves.”