A Poisonous Mix - Human Rights Watch

fostering, or live and work by themselves. Other adults, such as relatives or even strangers,
sometimes also take advantage of the vulnerability of children, and economically exploit
them by sending them to work in the mines without pay.
The government has failed to effectively address child labor in artisanal mining. It has not
enforced current law banning hazardous forms of child labor, and has done too little to
make education available and accessible in artisanal mining areas. The government has
also failed to address child protection issues, mining-related health problems, and
environmental health issues related to mercury in artisanal mining.
Hazardous Child Labor throughout the Mining Process
Digging Shafts and Working Underground
Digging and constructing shafts or pits is the first phase of the gold mining process, and is
physically demanding. Boys as young as six do this work. One boy, about six years of age,
complained that digging shafts caused him pain in the palms of his hands. 94 Another boy,
Moussa S., also about six years old, told Human Rights Watch:
I dig shafts, with a pickaxe. It is really difficult. I have pain sometimes, for
example headaches. 95
Hamidou S., estimated to be eight years old, told us that he also dug shafts with a pickaxe,
resulting in back and neck pain. 96
Shafts are estimated to be at least 30 meters deep, and sometimes more. 97 Those who
climb into shafts and work underground are considered doing “man’s work”, even though
some are also children. Oumar K., about 14, described his experience:
I climb into shafts, something like 30 meters deep. I started this year. Before
that, I worked in mining too for about three years – pulling the rope [with a
bucket out of the shaft]. The work with the bucket was very tiring.... The shaft
is worse…. When you are in the shaft, you are alone and do all the work…. This
year, a shaft collapsed, but no one died. It had rained a lot and one part of the
94 Human Rights Watch interview with Alpha K., estimated age six, Baroya, April 3, 2011.
95 Human Rights Watch interview with Moussa S., estimated age six, Baroya, April 3, 2011.
96 Human Rights Watch interview with Hamidou S., estimated age eight, Baroya, April 3, 2011.
97 Save the Children found shafts up to 50 meters deep. Save the Children, “Recherche sur les enfants travailleurs dans les
placers au Mali, Burkina Faso, en Guinée,” December 2008, p. 28.
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