Chile's economic activity misses forecasts in May despite mining boost
The IMACEC index, which accounts for about 90% of the Andean country's gross domestic product, accelerated from the 2.5% year-on-year increase reported in April but missed the 3.7% expansion forecast by economists polled by Reuters.
The mining sector of the world's largest copper producer posted the main activity jump as it grew 10.3% year-on-year, boosted by higher output of the red metal, the bank said.
"The (annual) IMACEC result was explained by the growth of all its components, with the performances of services and mining the highlights," it added in a statement.
On a monthly basis, economic activity in the Andean country was down 0.2%, the bank said.
"Economic activity remains solid, despite the modest month-to-month decline in May, which followed a decent run," Pantheon Macroeconomics' chief Latin America economist, Andres Abadia, said. "The outlook remains positive."
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Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate which is the most active jihadist group in the region, staged an unprecedented number of attacks targeting Burkina Faso military during the first half of 2025, a sign of the group's growing armed groups are also literally cashing in on the increased global appetite for gold.A large proportion of gold mining in the Sahel is from the artisanal and small-scale sector, which is often informal, meaning it takes place on unlicensed and undeclared sites away from government oversight, according to a 2023 report on gold mining in the Sahel by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).Armed groups, including jihadist groups, and Sahel governments are in competition for control over many of these small-scale gold mines. Gold provides an important revenue stream for militant groups, which appear to be expanding their territorial influence in both Mali and Burkina Faso. The UNODC believes that most gold from this type of mining ends up in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a global centre for gold refining and trading."You do see overlap of violent extremist groups moving onto artisanal production areas for control," said Dr global spike in gold prices may be prolonging and exacerbating conflict in the Sahel - but, unfortunately for the diggers in artisanal gold mines, it has not led to owners increasing their wages. One gold miner in Mali's northern Kidal region agreed to respond to written questions from the BBC on condition of anonymity, for fear of his estimated that, on a "good day", he earns 10,000 to 20,000 CFA francs, or approximately $18 to $36 (£13 to £26). The amount he is paid has not increased alongside global gold prices, he said."Prices went up, but the extra profit goes to mine owners… It's risky and uncertain, but for many of us, it's the only option," he Vines, who formerly worked as a blood diamond investigator for the UN, is concerned that gold has become Africa's new main conflict noted that gold has not received the same international attention as diamonds, which fuelled bloodshed in several African states throughout the 20th Century, especially during the by human rights groups and the UN led to the establishment of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in 2003, which did much to end the sale of so-called "blood diamonds" on the open attempts to crack down on "blood gold" have been less is partly due to a lack of unified ethical standards. The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), a major authority in the gold market, requires refiners to comply with standards based on guidelines set by a global body, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OED).The UAE's enforcement of these regulations has historically been patchy. In 2021, the country announced its own standards for ethical gold mining - however, the framework remains voluntary. The issue of enforcement has caused tensions in the past between the Gulf state and the technology represents another hurdle."There is no 'DNA testing' for gold. With a lot of effort, you can trace diamonds before they get polished and cut… But I haven't seen ways of tracing the origins of a gold nugget," Dr Vines is smelted early on in the value chain, making it nearly impossible to trace and connect to potential conflict zones, he Vines believes that it is likely that some blood gold from the Sahel ends up in UK markets."[Gold] gets smelted in [the] UAE, then goes onto the jewellery manufacturing industry, or into dentistry, or bullion. Some of it clearly comes into the UK. And once it is here, there is no way of testing what it is."Another reason that it will be difficult to repeat the successes of the Kimberley process, according to Dr Vines, is because the certification system was not designed to deal with state governments."Kimberley was designed to deal with armed non-state actors in places like Sierra Leone and Liberia," he now, gold's importance for Sahel governments and the patchy enforcement of ethical gold standards mean that the commodity is likely to continue changing hands, regardless of its origin. Unfortunately for some communities in the Sahel, that may mean paying for the trade in blood. You may also be interested in: 'I thought I would die' - freed captive tells BBC of life in jihadist baseWhy Burkina Faso's junta leader has captured hearts and minds 'We are poisoning ourselves': Ghana gold rush sparks environmental disasterThe region with more 'terror deaths' than rest of world combined Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
