Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences,

Children working in artisanal mines and quarries are subject to a series of violations of human rights and very often find themselves in conditions that amount to contemporary forms of slavery...Children are often treated by their employers as commodities – replaceable cheap labour to be thoroughly exploited...Children working in this sector face particular, and in some cases a combination of, physical, psychological, economic and sexual exploitation not found in other areas where children work..
http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1011656