illegal mining
Unauthorized resource harvesting
Illegal mining is the extraction of minerals, metals, or other resources without proper permits, licenses, or regulatory approval.
It ranges from small-scale operations by informal miners to organized criminal enterprises.
Environmental damage, unsafe working conditions, and conflict financing are common concerns: Illegal mining operations have devastated the rainforest.
The term often appears in discussions of gold, diamonds, and coal extraction in developing regions.
- poachingUnlawful wildlife capture
- smugglingIllegal covert transport
- black marketIllicit trading system
- cartelPrice-fixing coalition
- organized crimeStructured illegal enterprise
jungle · rainforest · protected lands · mercury · mercury poisoning · contamination · excavation · tunnels · prospectors · gold · gold rush · diamonds · guerrillas · deforestation · environmental damage · rivers · sluice · dredging
- crimerobbery, accomplice, alibi, burglary, conspiracy
- eco-crimespoaching, wildlife trafficking, toxic dumping, chemical dumping, rhino poaching
- pollutionair pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, smog, toxic waste
- black marketblack market, smugglers, contraband, traffickers, bootleggers
- global crimehuman trafficking, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, terrorism, money laundering
- organized crimemafia, mob, the mob, syndicate, crime syndicate
illegal, illegally, illegality, legal, legally, legality, legalize, legalization, illegalize