Chinese Mining Firms Drive Illegal Gold Boom in Bolivia

Private Chinese mining companies have turned Mayaya, a remote town in the Bolivian Amazon, into a center for gold speculation. Operating through roughly 20 open-pit mines and 12 dredge boats, these firms frequently bypass national laws by using local cooperatives as fronts to evade ownership and permit regulations. This expansion accelerated after China banned domestic small-scale gold mining in 2017.

Rodrigo Paz Pereira, the President of Bolivia, recently signed agreements that reduce barriers to mining within Indigenous territories and protected areas. This policy shift occurs as the country's mining regulator estimates that 80% of national mining is illegal. The boom has caused significant deforestation in Madidi National Park and mercury poisoning among Indigenous communities.

Much of the extracted gold is smuggled through La Paz to Dubai, specifically the Murshid Bazar market, before being sent to Switzerland to enter legal Western supply chains. Campaigners identify firms such as Shenzhen Vicstar Import and Export as entities that skirt the law by hiding behind cooperatives to avoid legal responsibilities.