The Real Price of Gold – my take on the National Geographic article

National Geographic just published a brilliant cover story titled: The Real Price of Gold

And while I find the article fascinating and hugely disappointing at times, my experience with artisanal gold miners is very different than that of the magazine. Not only did I see significantly greater gold finds, but I also saw much simpler and environmentally friendly harvesting methods. I also did not see the poverty levels shown in this article nor did I see any dangerous lifestyles. This article only further reinforces the magic that we witnessed. We saw people harvesting gold from river embankments using wooden pans and water pumps. The workday began around 9:30 when it was warm enough not to catch cold from the water and it stopped before sunset for the same reason. There was no mercury to separate gold from ore. There were just gold flecks that were collected and melted into larger flecks at the end of the day. And the larger flecks added up over time. I saw various gold harvesting villages organized along the river and I witnessed a system of self-government that enabled everyone a fair stake of their harvest.In fact, we were there when everyone from all the whole area gathered for a day of socializing. First there was a big soccer game and then there was  a dance at the local store. Everyone from all the surrounding villages attended as they do every Sunday and then everyone went back to pan for the rest of the week.

Gold Panning Set Up that we witnessed

Photo of the water pump

I do not doubt any of the things that I read in the National Geographic article – it just did not reinforce the experiences that I had. That said, there were some amazing facts in the article that I would like to highlight here. Please take a moment to read the article in its entirety.

“…jewelry still accounts for two-thirds of the demand, generating a record $53.5 billion in worldwide sales in 2007.”

“In all of history, only 161,000 tons of gold have been mined, barely enough to fill two Olympic-size swimming pools. More than half of that has been extracted in the past 50 years.”

“In 2007, India consumed 773.6 tons of gold, about 20 percent of the world gold market and more than double that purchased by either of its closest followers, China (363.3 tons) and the U.S. (278.1 tons). India produces very little gold of its own, but its citizens have hoarded up to 18,000 tons of the yellow metal—more than 40 times the amount held in the country’s central bank.”

“In small-scale mines around the globe, searching for gold is a family affair. Of the world’s 12 to 15 million artisanal gold miners, an estimated 30 percent are women and children.”

For more information about our trip or if you would ever like to participate in an Amazonian gold hunt, please visit www.perugoldtours.com