As gold prices hover at record highs, a leading Catholic leader in Peru’s Amazon is urging countries that are destinations for the precious metal to help stem illegal mining that is poisoning rivers with mercury.

Miguel Ángel Cadenas, an Augustinian from Spain who has lived in Peru’s Amazon for three decades, said illegal mining has surged since the COVID-19 pandemic, citing the Tigre, Nanay, Napo and Putumayo rivers as some areas where communities are at risk.

Tests have found mercury levels in some fish above World Health Organization limits, and hair samples from local residents analyzed by scientists and doctors also showed elevated concentrations.

“We are in a delicate situation,” Cadenas told The Associated Press.

Given that the Amazonian diet is rich in fish, local residents are dealing with food insecurity, he said.

Mercury is widely used to separate gold during small-scale mining.

It contaminates water, accumulates in fish, and builds up in people’s bodies, leading to neurological and developmental harm.

Cadenas said the health risks are especially acute in the Amazon, where medical services are scarce.

Research in Peru’s Madre de Dios region found that 43% of women of childbearing age had mercury levels above WHO safety limits, while hair samples in villages along Peru’s Amazon riverways showed nearly 80% of residents exceeded the threshold.

Cadenas said there is barely any information, and the majority of the people do not understand what is happening. The state, he said, should first provide good information to its own population and then sources of food that allow other alternatives.

Gold prices are soaring — analysts expect them to average around $3,675 per ounce by late 2025 with possible gains toward $4,000 by 2026, according to JPMorgan.

Analysts say weak traceability systems make it easier for illegally mined gold to slip into global markets.

Reports from Switzerland and sustainability researchers focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards say gold tainted with mercury in places like the Amazon is often laundered through refineries before entering jewelry, electronics or national reserves.

Cadenas, who served as a missionary and bishop before being appointed in 2021 to lead the Apostolic Vicariate of Iquitos, stressed that Peru cannot handle the problem alone.

“As long as the price of gold continues to rise....it is very difficult for a national government to manage this situation,” he said. He pointed to gold-buying nations including China, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

He said the first responsibility should be that those countries buying gold require traceability, so that it is not possible to pass illegal gold into legality so easily.

Cadenas also warned of growing violence, especially against local environmental defenders in the Amazon region.

Across the Amazon, environmental defenders are frequently targeted — Colombia has led the world in killings for several years, while Peru also ranks among the most dangerous places to speak out against illegal mining and logging.

Peru has at times tried to rein in illegal mining and mercury use.

In 2019 it launched Operation Mercury, a military-police crackdown that sharply reduced deforestation in the La Pampa mining zone, though much of the activity later shifted elsewhere. Authorities also announced record seizures of contraband mercury, including a four-ton shipment at Callao port this year.

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