Three days of digging can earn a month's wages — Cubans flock to illegal gold rush

Cubans squeezed by decades of US sanctions and a deepening economic crisis are flocking to illegal gold mining sites in search of a livelihood, with daily earnings that dwarf what most workers make in a month drawing ever more people into the risk-laden rush.

Unauthorized small-scale gold mining has been spreading rapidly in rural areas of the eastern and central provinces of Camagüey, Las Tunas and Ciego de Ávila, according to Spanish-language outlets Infobae and the Havana Times on Thursday (local time).

Gold is a strategic resource under state control in Cuba. While small private operators are permitted to extract some minerals, gold mining remains a state monopoly, and only government-licensed operators may legally mine it.

But for residents who have lost jobs and livelihoods, such regulations offer little deterrent, local reports say.

The reason is straightforward: the earnings gap is overwhelming.

Local miners say refined gold fetches more than 60,000 Cuban pesos per gram. Even on a "bad day" with a meager haul, a single miner can reportedly take home around 3,000 pesos.

Cuba's official average monthly wage in 2025 stood at roughly 6,930 pesos, meaning a single day's earnings from mining can amount to nearly half a month's salary. Three similar days in a row would already surpass what a typical worker earns in a month.

"It doesn't have to be a big nugget," said Jesus, a miner in the Guáimaro area. "Even rocks with traces of gold or low-grade gold dust are enough to make money."

The lure has begun transforming communities that were traditionally built around cattle ranching. Young men who once tended livestock are increasingly picking up shovels, pickaxes and sieves to hunt for gold. Word that some successful young miners have bought motorcycles, purchased housing or saved enough to emigrate has only drawn more people to the mines.

Yet the spread of illegal mining is bringing serious side effects to rural communities.

Because the mining itself is illegal, victims of theft have no recourse — reporting stolen gold or equipment to police is not an option. Robberies and armed theft have followed, prompting some miners to take turns standing guard through the night. When the threat of crime rises, some go out in pairs armed with knives or rocks, on alert against attack.

Eloisa Rivero, a resident of Guáimaro, said the gold rush has changed the character of the town as outsiders pour in. She said some who have made money have been causing disturbances at bars, and that fights and reckless motorcycle riding have become more frequent.

Environmental concerns are also mounting.

Small-scale miners are known to use mercury to separate gold from ore and soil. If the highly toxic substance seeps into the ground or groundwater, it could contaminate drinking water sources and harm the agricultural and livestock environment for surrounding communities.

Wells that supply drinking water and support the livestock industry in the Guáimaro area sit near Flor de María, where some illegal mining operations are located, and authorities have expressed concern about the risk of contamination.

The Cuban government has cracked down on illegal gold mining. In Ciego de Ávila, a major operation once resulted in the arrest of more than 300 people and the seizure of mining equipment. The government's position is that gold deposits must be developed through state-managed, legal operations and that the proceeds should flow to the national treasury.

But observers note that enforcement alone is unlikely to stop illegal mining as long as the economic crisis persists.

"The desperation to survive is stronger than the police," Jesus said. "And Cuba has no shortage of that desperation."

As long as a few days of digging can yield what a regular job pays in a month, the stream of Cubans heading to the mines — despite the dangers and the law — shows no sign of stopping.