The EU’s Hidden Gold Frontier

Rich in gold and officially part of the European Union, French Guiana is a major hotspot of environmental damage from gold mining in the Amazon. Legal and illegal extraction alike devastate rivers and forests, leaving land infertile despite reforestation requirements

LATIN AMERICA | EUROPE | FRENCH GUIANA | ENVIRONMENT | ECONOMY

French Guiana, a stretch of a tributary that has been disfigured by the SIAL Crique Serpent 1 gold mine.

A true corner of the European Union in South America, French Guiana has one defining feature: it is extremely rich in gold. There are, of course, other reasons for its notoriety—the fact that France once deported convicts sentenced to forced labor there (remember Papillon?), and that the European Space Agency now launches its rockets into orbit from its coast—but it is gold that continues to attract both interest and controversy.

Although deforestation levels remain relatively low (and not comparable to neighboring Brazil), a large share of the damage caused by gold mining in the Amazon—over 40 percent—occurs precisely in French Guiana. This is not only the work of illegal prospectors, who cross the border clandestinely and use dangerous mercury: everyone, including those holding legal concessions (around thirty across the country), contributes in their own way to environmental destruction by digging along rivers, cutting down trees, and damaging ecosystems. Gold is still extracted in open-air operations, by sifting through waterways that flow toward the Atlantic. French Guianese law requires mining companies to reforest 30 percent of the damaged land, but this is not enough: the soil remains barren and loses its fertility.

French Guiana, employees of the SIAL Crique Serpent 1 gold mine at work during the first phase of sifting.

French Guiana, traces of gold visible during the first phase of sifting at the SIAL Crique Serpent 1 Gold mine.

French Guiana, two young men at sunset by the River Maroni in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni.

French Guiana, a satellite dish at base camp at the SIAL gold mine.

French Guiana, women prepare to sing in the choir at the church of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni.

French Guiana, a hydraulic digger at the SIAL Crique Serpent 1 gold mine.

French Guiana, at the base camp of the SIAL gold mine, the result of the final phase of sifting can be seen.

French Guiana, the vegetation along the river not far from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni.

French Guiana, outside the St Joseph’s church in Iracoubou.

French Guiana, an employee watches a digger working at the SIAL Crique Serpent 1 mine.

French Guiana, at base camp in the SIAL gold mine an employee holds some of the gold recovered from the final phase of sifting.

French Guiana, a Chinese woman works in a shop on the outskirts of Cayenne.

French Guiana, the interior of St Joseph’s church in Iracoubou, which was painted by the prisoner Pierre Huguet (1892-1898).

French Guiana, employees of the SIAL Crique Serpent 1 gold mine during the first phase of sifting.

French Guiana, a shop in Cayenne sells souvenirs commemorating the country’s gold panning heritage and its history as a penal colony.

French Guiana, at the base camp of the SIAL mine, a worker shows the gold resulting from the final phase of panning.

French Guiana, youngsters attend football training in a Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni.

French Guiana, base camp of the SIAL gold mine at sunrise.

French Guiana, the Atlantic coast in Cayenne.

French Guiana, employees at the SIAL Crique Serpent 1 gold mine during the first phase of sifting.

French Guiana, the Auberge Des Plages restaurant in Cayenne.

French Guiana, a stretch of river that has been disfigured at the SIAL Crique Serpent 1 gold mine.

French Guiana, William Montaigne, Scientific and Technical manager of SOLICAZ, carries plants to the UMR Ecofog laboratory in Kourou.

French Guiana, youngsters sit on a bench in Place de Palmistes in Cayenne.

French Guiana, an employee of the SIAL gold mine at base camp.

French Guiana, Thierry Favaretto (right) and Elodie Brunstein together with a friend take a break while checking on the reforestation work carried out by SOLICAZ along the rivers where SIAL extracts gold.

French Guiana, not far from the base camp of the SIAL gold mine a stretch of river that had been disfigured by the search for gold and was later reforested by the SOLICAZ company.

French Guiana, a mural inspired in the courtyard of the Les Palmistes restaurant in Cayenne depicts life in the French prisons.

French Guiana, a building at the largest French prison in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni.

French Guiana, an employee at the base camp of the SIAL gold mine.

French Guiana, the first phase of sifting at the SIAL Crique Serpent 1 gold mine.

French Guiana, the final phase of sifting at the base camp of the SIAL gold mine.

French Guiana, initial interventions as part of the reforestation work carried out by the company SOLICAZ along the rivers where SIAL extracts gold.