Some 10–15 million people in 70 countries work in the ASGM trade. The estimated number of child workers varies; in the African Sahel, for instance, they could make up 30–50% of the workforce9 while mining operations in the Brazilian Amazon employ far fewer children, according to Veiga.
Last year, investigators with the New York–based nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) traveled to Mali, where children as young as 6 were seen digging mine shafts, carrying and crushing stone, and panning for gold alongside adults. In a December 2011 report, the group claims that 20,000–40,000 children from that country work in gold mining, and that many among them carry out amalgamation, which can result in protracted exposure to mercury vapor.10 “And virtually none of the children knew that mercury is toxic,” says Juliane Kippenberg, an HRW senior researcher. “Very few were taking precautions against the fumes.”
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