Zaruma is a town in Ecuador whose official name is “Villa del Cerro de Oro de San Antonio de Zaruma” and is located in the province of El Oro.
It has several awards: “City of National Tourist Interest”, “Cultural Heritage of the Ecuadorian State,” and “Magical Town of Ecuador”.
It is one of the oldest cities in Ecuador, whose origin dates back to the late seventeenth century, and sits on one of the largest gold mines in the world.
THE TOWN WITH THE MOST GOLD IN ECUADOR
With a population of 24,000 inhabitants, Zaruma is at “serious risk of collapse”, according to geologists. Illegal gold mining has been going on here for centuries, a practice that is weakening the soil on which the town is built by leaps and bounds.
Illegal miners are called sableros, who dig in the rocks where there is gold. The problem is that there are houses, hospitals, and schools on these rocks. As a result of illegal gold mining, in 2021, a hole 30 meters deep and 27 meters wide was opened in the historic center of Zaruma.
According to data published by Bloomberg, most mines in the world contain between three and five grams of gold for every 1,000 kilograms of rock and earth. Incredibly, Zaruma has found veins weighing up to 180 grams per ton and small branches weighing up to 500 grams.
But what is the reason why there is so much gold in this Ecuadorian town? The tectonic forces that caused the Andes to emerge 20 million years ago gave rise to a torrent of magma that generated quartz veins in the rock.
Zaruma’s subsoil is a labyrinth that only the most experienced sableros know how to navigate.
In recent years, different programs have been implemented to protect Zaruma’s subsoil, but all have had the opposite effect. As a result of these programs, the number of intact veins increased, which attracted more sableros.
Now, Iván Núñez has been charged with finding a formula to put an end to illegal gold mining. As he has explained, the situation is completely out of control, so urgent action is needed.
According to a statement from Interpol, illegal mining turned over US$48 billion in the world in the year in 2016.
With information from Ok Diario