Child miners pay the price in Burkina Faso's gold rush

Younger children, who are small enough to get to the bottom of the mine shafts, are often the first accident victims. David Kerespars, whose children's charity Terre des Hommes works at a dozen illicit sites in Burkina Faso, says up to a quarter of youngsters are hurt working at the mines.
"Here the ground is solid, but sometimes the earth is very fragile. You can feel it when you probe. Cracks appear in the hole and that's scary," said Frederic Tindiebeogo, 23, whose T-shirt bears the slogan: "It's only funny when someone gets hurt".
Ouedraogo, the elder at Nobsin, says it is "despair" that brings so many kids to the mines, where they are exposed to sexual abuse, alcohol and drug use.
The effect on their futures is catastrophic. The young gold-diggers receive no schooling and mostly work "more than 10 hours a day" and often "in the full glare of the sun", according to UNICEF's representative in Burkina Faso, Marc Rubin.
Living and working near dangerous chemicals such as cyanide and mercury, both used in the extraction of gold, also poses a serious risk to their health, Rubin said.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/2014/03/26/child-miners-pay-the-price-in-burkina-faso-s-gold-rush