Despite massive investments, around 8,000 illegal gold miners operate daily in French Guiana across 591 sites, having extracted 6 tons of gold in 2025. The prefecture released a report on December 4 highlighting the traffic's resilience, bolstered by rising gold prices and neighboring Suriname's inaction. Indigenous populations endure deforestation and river pollution.
French Guiana's dense equatorial forest hosts persistent illegal activity despite crackdown efforts. The prefecture's December 4 report states that 8,000 clandestine gold miners work daily across 591 sites, extracting 6 tons of gold during 2025. This gold rush, ongoing for forty years, severely affects indigenous communities in interior municipalities, who face environmental devastation.
Each year, 150 hectares of forest are cleared and 100 kilometers of waterways are irreversibly damaged, making depollution unfeasible. Since 2003, over 3,600 kilometers of rivers have been destroyed—an extent seven times the length of the Garonne—according to a November report from the National Assembly's sustainable development commission. Mercury discharges, used in gold extraction, along with mining sludge, devastate aquatic life, taint the food chain, and create major public health risks.
Despite substantial resources committed, the traffic's endurance stems from surging gold prices and Suriname's neighboring inaction, easing cross-border movements. This issue continues to endanger the Guyanese ecosystem and public health, underscoring the need for stronger regional cooperation.