Cocaine farmers in Colombia are leaving the drug business and moving into illegal gold-mining. <br /><br />Authorities have shut down scores of mines in the northwestern province of Cordoba in a crackdown on illegal mining that started in September. About 400 police took part in the sweep.<br /><br />Communities near the unregulated mines suffer from the "improper use of mercury and other contaminating substances" found in soil and bodies of water, officials said.<br /><br />Al Jazeera's Monica Villamizar reports from Norosi.
