Peru and Colombia Mulls Over Centralized Gold Purchases

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The governments of Colombia and Peru are reportedly analyzing possibilities of centralizing gold purchases. The centralized mechanism of gold purchases is aimed at combating illegal and informal extraction of gold, which is quite rampant in these countries.

In an announcement, Colombian President Ivan Duque said that the country’s administration considers the move seriously, in a bid to end the significant role played by illegal mining in funding of the decades-long internal conflict in the country.

Accordingly, the government plans to reopen discussions with the nation’s central bank in order to return to centralized buying. It must be noted that the central bank had served as the sole purchaser of gold produced in the country until 1991, when the market was opened to other players.

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In addition, Colombian government plans to hike penalties imposed for environmental crimes and illegal gold mining activities. Last week, it had launched a new military unit to thwart illicit mining.

Meantime, informal miners in Peru urged the government to implement clear rules for commercialization of gold. The state’s overall control on commercialization process would promote traceability, which in turn will curtail informal mining, said Jaime Galvez, Peru’s mining minister.