TRUJILLO, Peru, May 7 (Reuters) - Peruvian mining sector

worker Frank Monzón was aware of the risks, but the lure of gold

deep in the Andean rock of northern Pataz province outweighed

the danger. Now he and 12 others are dead in one of the

country's worst mining massacres.

Authorities this week halted some mining activity in Peru's

gold-rich north and sent in the military after police recovered

the bodies of the 13 mine workers from inside the Lidmar mine

after they were kidnapped by illegal miners last month and

killed.

Lidmar was working in agreement with major local gold

producer Poderosa, Peru's second-largest producer.

The killings, by suspected gangs involved in illegal mining,

have shaken the mineral-rich country, the world's no. 3 copper

producer and no. 8 for gold, where soaring global prices of the

precious metal have led to a boom in illegal activity and

sparked clashes between big mines and wildcat operators.

Illegal mining, primarily of gold, has surpassed even drug

trafficking in terms of value, hitting some $3-4 billion each

year, according to Peru's government.

"He used to tell me that there were many deaths and I always

kept telling my son 'leave this job, son, come back, don't work

there, work somewhere else'," said Abraham Dominguez, who

identified himself as the father of one of the victims.

"For us as parents, it is such a great pain that we feel.

It's our children, our blood. I thought maybe one day he would

bury me, but instead, I am going to bury my son."

Into the night on Tuesday, relatives of the murdered mine

workers, who had been security guards, said farewell to their

loved ones, with burials in cities around the country.

In Trujillo, capital of the region where Pataz is located,

relatives were scared to speak to the media as funerals were

held, saying they feared reprisals from criminal gangs who

authorities have blamed for the murders.

The white coffin of Monzón was carried by friends and family

and paraded through the streets of Trujillo before his burial.

In northern Piura, Darwin Cobeñas was laid to rest in his humble

hometown, while his family sobbed and prayed that his death not

go unpunished.

"I'm only alive because my friend told me not to go," one

local man in his 30s, who said he had worked before with some of

the victims, told Reuters at Monzon's funeral. "He told me: 'A

lot of things are happening, don't go'".

'GOLD IS A CURSE'

Pataz has become Peru's largest gold-producing region, in no

small part due to artisan or informal mines, which operate under

temporary REINFO permits.

However, with gold prices near record highs, illegal groups

often muscle into the operations of small-scale miners or steal

their production in collusion with criminal gangs, according to

police and industry sources.

"Gold is a curse for Pataz," the mayor of Pataz, Aldo

Mariño, told Reuters. He had traveled to Lima to speak with

President Dina Boluarte and demand greater investment in his

remote region, an 18-hour drive even from Trujillo.

He said that despite the area's great mineral wealth, his

community lives in poverty, without basic services and on

deteriorating or unpaved roads.

"This has been going on for several years, with the

difference that now everything has collapsed. It's due to the

absence of the State," he said. "People continue to die."

Trujillo prosecutors investigating the deaths said on

Tuesday that the workers had been dead for seven to eight days,

citing forensic studies. Lidmar said in a statement its workers

"were ambushed, cruelly tortured, and murdered by hitmen."

Poderosa has reported the deaths of 39 workers in recent

years in attacks on its facilities or small mines that supply it

with gold. And in the last four years, 15 of the company's

high-voltage towers have been destroyed with explosives.

Peru exported $15.5 billion in gold in 2024, a sharp

increase from $11 billion the previous year. It is estimated

that around 40% of this likely came from illegal sources.