The French government spends €70 million each year cracking down on illegal gold mining in French Guiana, a struggle that has cost the lives of five French servicemen since 2019. But these efforts are being sabotaged by a powerful logistical system, mostly made up of Chinese players supporting the garimpeiros (illegal gold miners), according to a research note published by the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS) on Thursday, September 7. "While Brazilian gold miners mainly conduct illicit activities in French Guiana, they are made possible by Chinese stakeholders playing an essential, albeit indirect, role," reads the note, signed by researchers Simon Menet and Antoine Bondaz.

Some 120 trading posts established on the Surinamese bank of the Maroni River, which borders the French overseas territory, "play a key role in the logistics of gold panning by supplying equipment and everyday goods to work sites and enabling their financing." Stores were first set up on the Guiana side. They were all dismantled by French soldiers involved in France's Operation Harpie against gold panning, which has been in place since 2008.

Relocated back to Suriname, the stores are organized around two hubs, Albina and Albina 2, opposite Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and Maripasoula and their gendarmeries posts. This out-of-control traffic is part of the natural exchanges between the river's populations – more than 1,000 pirogues rotate daily between Albina and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni.

Around these businesses, "transnational networks facilitate the handling and laundering of almost 10 tons of illegally mined gold every year," according to the FRS. In Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, the gold-buying stores – Century Mining, Suriname Natural Stone, Cactus, and Dennis Lee Jewellery – are run by the local Chinese diaspora.

The pyramid scheme is based on the principle that gold miners pay for their equipment in all possible currencies, including gold. These payment methods are combined with a system of debt borne by the Chinese traders, the FRS says. "The supply of equipment (petrol, mercury, motor pumps, quad bikes, etc.) is based on pre-financing in return for an exclusive sale." In this case, gold miners sell around 5% below global prices.

Researchers have identified the comings and goings of the Chinese entrepreneurs involved. Originating from the Fujian province, like many of these operators, one arrived in Suriname in late 2019. Two weeks later, from the Transamerica commercial complex, which comprises warehouses, gold-buying counters, supermarkets, hotels, and restaurants, he crossed the river to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. The man shared videos taken in 2020 and 2021 showing scenes of gold refining. Some show him operating near the towns of Apatou and Maripasoula. In July 2021, he returned to China for a month. He has since opened a restaurant in Paramaribo and purchased a vehicle enabling fuel transport.

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