A Poisonous Mix - Human Rights Watch

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Companies in Other Countries Mali also exports gold to several other European and North American countries, Thailand, and China. One trader reported that international buyers have come occasionally straight to the mines and bought there. 379 According to the figures obtained from the Ministry of the Economy and Finances, between 2009 and 2011, the third largest business partner after Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates was Belgium. 380 During the first of half of 2011, a Belgian company, Tony Goetz, imported about 60 kilograms, worth close to US$ 3 million. 381 In response to a letter from Human Rights Watch about the use of child labor in Mali’s artisanal gold mines, Tony Goetz stated that “artisanal mines that make use of highly toxic mercury are not among the suppliers of Tony Goetz NV,” and that their suppliers have acknowledged that they do not use child labor. The company also said that “the amount of gold purchased from Malian suppliers by Tony Goetz represents only a very negligible amount of the total purchases of the company (i.e. less than 0.5% of the total purchases).” 382 Government Mining Policies: Failure to Regulate Artisanal Mining The Malian government policy on mining is primarily focused on large-scale mining, which accounts for the majority of Mali’s gold exports, and the need to attract international investors. Where the government does deal with artisanal mining, its approach is mostly characterized by a laissez-faire attitude and a neglect of the pervasive poverty, child labor, and mercury use in artisanal mines. The government tolerates most artisanal mining activities, including those outside the legally established mining corridors. According to one official, 97 percent of artisanal mining sites lie outside the corridors. 383 The government has failed to regulate and support the sector, a step that could increase miners’ incomes and help eliminate child labor. One reason for this situation is that many local government officials and traditional authorities benefit from artisanal mining, by raising fees for shafts or getting part of the gold production as customary owner of the land. 384 Sometimes, local government officials even become gold miners themselves, and receive considerable income through the miners working for them. An official from the ministry of mines said that there are 379 Human Rights Watch interview with gold trader, Kéniéba, April 1, 2011. 380 See Annex I. The estimate is based on June 2011 gold prices. 381 See Annex II. 382 See Annex V. 383 Human Rights Watch interview with government official, Ministry of Mines, Bamako, April 6, 2011. 384 See section II for details. 77 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | DECEMBER 2011
“conflicts of interest when the mayor is gold miner.” 385 As a result, local government authorities—who have oversight over artisanal mining—do not take their regulatory role seriously, and are unlikely to take action on child labor. One government official told Human Rights Watch: “Mayors sometimes make money with the mines, so they don’t provide good oversight”. 386 It is therefore not surprising that government officials at the central level consider artisanal mining “difficult,” and that the government usually avoids addressing child labor. 387 While shying away from some of the difficult issues, the government has recognized the need to get better information about the sector. It is presently carrying out a study on the economic output of artisanal gold mines in Mali, jointly with the World Bank. 388 According to one official from the Ministry of Mines, there is a desire to regulate the sector better, for example, by clearly demarcating areas that are prohibited for artisanal mining. 389 Government officials have announced the closure of mines that are located in classified forests or near water currents, but it remains unclear whether this policy will be implemented. 390 In Kolondiéba circle, the government announced the closure of a mine, but then closed the site only for the rainy season, when most artisanal miners leave to work in agriculture for a few months. 391 While it is possible that some artisanal mining sites will be closed in the future as part of an effort to protect the environment, it seems unlikely that larger parts of the sector will be outlawed or severely restricted. The new draft mining law continues to use the concept of mining corridors, but strengthens involvement of the Ministries of Mines and Environment, indicating a desire to control artisanal mining to some extent from the central government. 392 The recent establishment of the Mali Mining Chamber also indicates support for the sector, in particular wealthier artisanal miners and gold traders. 385 Human Rights Watch interview with government official, Ministry of Mines, Bamako, April 6, 2011. 386 Human Rights Watch interview with representative of international agency, February 14, 2011. 387 Human Rights Watch interview with government official, Ministry of Mines, Bamako, March 30, 2011; Human Rights Watch interview with official from National Directorate for Mines, February 15, 2011. 388 Human Rights Watch interview with representative of the National Statistics Institute (INSTAT), Bamako, April 6, 2011; Human Rights Watch interview with government official, Ministry of Mines, Bamako, April 6, 2011. 389 Human Rights Watch interview with government official, Ministry of Mines, Bamako, April 6, 2011. 390 Human Rights Watch interview with government official, Ministry of Mines, Bamako, April 6, 2011. 391 Human Rights Watch interview with préfet, Kolondiéba, April 8, 2011; Email correspondence from local NGO in Kolondiéba, June 1 and 6, 2011. There was one large-scale eviction in 2010 at the large artisanal mine of Massiogo in the Sikasso region, but it occurred only after an industrial mine with an exploration permit complained to the government about the presence of artisanal miners.After the company urged the government to expel the artisanal miners, tens of thousands of miners were evicted from Massiogo in May 2010; Email communication from representative of CLUEDUCA to Human Rights Watch, June 7, 2011; Human Rights Watch interview with government official, Ministry of Mines, Bamako, March 30, 2011. 392 Ministère des Mines, “Code Minier (Projet)”, arts. 42-46. A POISONOUS MIX 78
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Mali A Poisonous Mix Child Labor, M
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Copyright © 2011 Human Rights Watc
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VI. A Poor Health Policy Response .
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A POISONOUS MIX II
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An artisanal gold mine, Kéniéba c
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Children carry calabashes and bucke
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Mining is one of the most hazardous
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Women work with mercury in the pres
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A boy climbs out of a shaft at an a
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KEY RECOMMENDATIONS • The Malian
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Methodology Field research for this
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I. The Context: Gold Mining in Mali
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Artisanal Gold Mining There are ove
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Artisanal miners who have been assi
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II. The Legal Framework Internation
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The Minimum Age Convention also per
Page 33 and 34: Trafficking in persons is prohibite
Page 35 and 36: The government has drawn up a natio
Page 37 and 38: fostering, or live and work by them
Page 39 and 40: I pull the buckets up…. It hurts
Page 41 and 42: I do gold panning and mixing [amalg
Page 43 and 44: Mercury traders provide mercury dir
Page 45 and 46: The Use of Mercury in Artisanal Min
Page 47 and 48: Extended periods of bending over to
Page 49 and 50: mine from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and tha
Page 51 and 52: Children Earning Their Own Money So
Page 53 and 54: thirds of child laborers surveyed i
Page 55 and 56: Agriculture and domestic labor are
Page 57 and 58: IV. Sexual Exploitation and Violenc
Page 59 and 60: Health workers and organizations wo
Page 61 and 62: However, the government’s efforts
Page 63 and 64: Programs to End Child Labor in Arti
Page 65 and 66: In June 2005, 15 countries, includi
Page 67 and 68: VI. A Poor Health Policy Response C
Page 69 and 70: Artisanal mining areas also lack se
Page 71 and 72: VII. “I Have Never Been to School
Page 73 and 74: When parents in Mali have to make c
Page 75 and 76: It is really difficult to combine s
Page 77 and 78: quality of education. 332 High stud
Page 79 and 80: VIII. The Gold Traders’ Responsib
Page 81 and 82: Child labor is not good. The gold g
Page 83: Chamber about the conditions in whi
Page 87 and 88: inding mining code is scheduled for
Page 89 and 90: Conclusion Child labor in Mali’s
Page 91 and 92: government and others should provid
Page 93 and 94: • Urge gold traders and companies
Page 95 and 96: • free school meals, including in
Page 97 and 98: through national roundtables involv
Page 99 and 100: Acknowledgements This report was re
Page 101 and 102: A POISONOUS MIX 94
Page 111 and 112: Annex IV A POISONOUS MIX 104
Page 113 and 114: Annex V A POISONOUS MIX 106
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A Poisonous Mix - Human Rights Watch

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