Suriname’s vast and ancient rainforests remain one of the world’s best-kept natural secrets, but the global demand for an age-old mineral threatens to destroy them. Record high gold prices over the past decade have triggered a massive gold rush across the country and the Amazon at large, resulting in the destruction of thousands of hectares of rainforests and the contamination of major rivers with highly toxic materials. Caught in the middle of this environmental devastation are indigenous and Maroon (contemporary descendants of formerly enslaved Africans) communities, whose livelihoods are increasingly tied to partaking in mining activities within their territories, with detrimental consequences for their well-being.

Small-scale gold mining, as seen from an airplane. (Imagery courtesy of Google ©2015 DigitalGlobe)

This map journal tells the story of Sranan gowtu (Surinamese gold, in the local tongue).

Gold mining in Suriname is taking place in remote areas, remaining unseen by much of Suriname and the world at large. Fortunately, advancements in mapping tools and satellite imagery allows for much improved monitoring and visualization of the spread of mining activity.

This Google Earth Engine Timelapse shows the expansion of mining activity in Suriname from 1984 through 2012, clearly depicting large expanses of rainforest giving way to muddy pools full of toxic materials. Note the rapid increase in gold mining activity shortly before the turn of the 21st century.

Use the bookmarks below the Timelapse to explore key areas of gold mining expansion. You can also pan or zoom in and out across the Timelapse manually, and adjust the animation speed using the tab below the year. Note: the timespan (1984-2012) is set by the Timelapse engine.  http://amazonteam.org/maps/suriname-gold/ (Source: Google Earth Engine and Time Machine Google Earth Engine Annual Timelapse Editor)

Suriname’s verdant rainforest, near the indigenous village of Tepu on the Tapanahony River.

Located in the highly biodiverse Guiana Shield region (shown here in orange outline), Suriname is among the most forested countries in the world. In 2012, Suriname’s land that is classified as forest encompassed 95% of the country’s entire area, globally surpassed only by its neighbor French Guiana. Suriname’s pristine rainforest harbors numerous unique species, such as the famed blue poison dart frog and the Guianan cock-of-the-rock.

However, Suriname’s great natural treasure is increasingly under threat. Since the 1960s, development and resource extraction incursions into the country’s interior have become commonplace. These incursions have taken the form of dam-building initiatives, logging, bauxite mining, and as of the turn of the century, small-scale and industrial gold mining.

Data source: World Bank (2012 forest cover, link)

As one of the world’s smallest countries, Suriname’s annual rate of total gold production doesn’t compare to that of larger countries like South Africa, China, Russia, or Peru. But in rate of production relative to area, Suriname actually ranks 10th globally.

Furthermore, these statistics from the USGS do not include estimations for illegal small-scale gold mining, which is more challenging to measure and constitutes the majority of gold mining activity in Suriname (Heemskerk 2010 provides some figures on small-scale gold mining production: link). This means that the actual gold production rate is much higher than represented here, and that much of it is taking place without adequate health and environmental regulations.

Global gold production in recent years has been driven by a sharp increase of international market prices for the mineral. The following chart provides London Metal Exchange prices for gold in USD/oz from 2000 until today (4-11-2016). In spite of the drop in USD/oz from approximately 2013 onward, the international prices for gold remain high. Click here to enlarge the chart.

Data source: USGS (2012 gold production, link)

ACT is using remote sensing technologies to monitor and analyze gold-mining activity in Suriname. Our goal is to continue to generate accurate and time-sensitive spatial data for mining activity across the Guianas. This swipe map uses our data to visualize the total extent of gold mining in 2000 (orange), and in 2014 (red). Use the swipe tool and bookmarks (top left) to explore particular areas of interest.

Processed, unrefined clumps of gold. Source: Chemservice (link)

The data was generated through a supervised classification of the University of Maryland’s Global Forest Change dataset, which compiles forest cover loss across the entire globe at a 30m² pixel resolution. Using this data, we are able to rapidly generate accurate figures on the total extent of gold mining activity to estimate and monitor the expansion of the threat. The following chart shows a strong correlation between the increase of the global per-ounce price of gold, and the calculated expansion of gold mining in Suriname.

Total extent of gold mining in 2000: 4,369 hectares

Total extent of gold mining in 2014: 41,136 hectares

Percent increase from 2000 to 2014: 893%

Within the REDD+ for the Guiana Shield project, forestry services from across the Guianas recently sponsored a collaborative study titled “Monitoring the impact of gold mining on the forest cover and fresh water in the Guiana Shield.” The research includes a comprehensive and scientific analysis of deforestation caused by gold mining across the Guianas and was carried out by a team of experts from the forestry and environmental services of Suriname (SBB), Guyana (GFC), Amapá (SEMA) and French Guiana (ONF). It was published in September 2015 and made available here: click to read.

Additionally, a comparable study on quantifying gold mining in Suriname using publicly available forest cover change detection data was done using data from Terra-i: link.

Data source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA (gold mining)