World Day Against Child Labour:
Mining and Quarrying
World Day Against Child Labour

12 June 2005

A Load too Heavy: child labour in mining and quarrying
Children haul loads of coal that weigh more than they do........................................Children mine gems in tunnels only as wide as their bodies........................................Children sit for hours in the sun, pounding boulders into road gravel........................................Children use toxic mercury to work gold out of rock with their bare hands........................................Children squat in water the whole day, patiently sifting sand for gold........................................

This year World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL) called our attention to a form of work that is dangerous to children in every way. It is physically dangerous because of the heavy and awkward loads, the strenuousness of the work, the unstable underground structures, the tools, the toxic chemicals, and the exposure to sun and water.

It can also be morally and psychologically risky given that mining often takes place in remote areas where law, schools, and social services are unknown, where family and community support may not exist, where "boom or bust" conditions foster alcohol abuse, drugs, and prostitution.

Quarrying occurs in most countries; child labour is found in quarrying in much of the developing world. Although children can be seen breaking stones alongside roads and cutting and hauling rock from pits that produce construction materials, no one knows just how many adults and children struggle to make a living this way.

Artisanal, small-scale mining employs approximately 13 million people worldwide - one million of these are children. The numbers are rising as economies falter; more people now work in small-scale mines than in the formal mining sector.

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Young miners, Uganda
Photographer: K. D Souza

* RM file requiring RealPlayer version 9

Updated by JWM. Approved by SG. Last update: 01 July 2005.