Elsewhere, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported on widespread lead poisoning, a result of using rudimentary tools to extract gold, in Nigeria's Zamfara state which has killed at least 400 children since 2010. In Mali, the organisation has found that around 20000 children, some as young as six, are doing heavy labour on artisanal gold mines and working with mercury, despite Malian and international laws prohibiting child labour.
HRW researcher Juliane Kippenberg says it would be desirable to formalise the sector so that some of the harmful practices, like the use of child labour, toxic chemicals and environmental effects, could be ended. But formalising artisanal mining cannot be done overnight.
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