Peru continues to make strides in curbing illegal mining. The country, since pre-Colombian times, has been mining gold. Now the government in Lima seeks to rein in the widespread illegal mining that is depriving the state from revenue and destroying the environment. Yet, the government did not take into account what else it was destroying.

As the government enacted measures to prevent illegal mining, troops were sent to various parts of the country, primarily in the Madre de Dios department, to suppress any illegal mining operations and destroy equipment.

According to The Associated Press, this happened in the town of Huepetuhe. Since the law banning illegal mining went into effect in April 19, Peruvian troops have destroyed machinery in the town, stopped gasoline shipments and have stopped all mining in the area. As a result, the local economy has collapsed and has turned the town, which stood there for more than 50 years, into a ghost town.

The mayor, Marco Ortega, said so many people have left that the town's population has plummeted to 3,000 from 22,000 people.

"The economy has collapsed," Ortega said. "The gold buyers, the hardware stores, hostels and all kinds of businesses have shut down. We are nearly a town without people."

Government officials say that they will provide new jobs for those destitute, but nothing has been done since. The AP reported that the region produced about 159 metric tons of gold in the last decade worth about $7 billion dollars. Yet, the illegal mining, aside from taking away tax and other revenue from the state, has also gone unchecked damaging the diverse environment with mines and mercury.

As mining stops in this region, it has begun in various others with the support of the Peruvian government. According to the Peruvian newspaper El Comercio, new gold mining projects are popping up in various regions. The latest will happen in the Apurimac department.

The Anama mine will be owned by Aruntani, Peru's second largest gold mining company, and is expected to produce 66,000 ounces of gold a year. The mine is located more than 4,000 meters above sea level.

"We are very happy that the Anama project is moving forward. It is the first project to enter production in Apurimac," said Guido del Castillo, founder and president of the mining company. "This region has a high number of mining projects, but none have produced minerals yet. Anama will be the first."

El Comerico reported that Apurimac has seen increasing investment by mining companies, showing a growing interest in the region. There already have been $11.9 million promised for investment in this decade, and various mines are set to open in the next couple of years.

Peru has also begun copper mining, something new for the country. Aruntani's Anabia mine will begin copper extraction by 2015 and is expected to produce 20,000 tons of copper a year.