I had travelled forty hours from my Santa Fe, N.M., home to visit a gold mine, which was attempting to achieve certification from Fairtrade International. Even reaching proximity to these strict international protocols was an achievement—not only is the required documentation extensive, but the foundation’s on-the-ground standards would mean big changes for the small-scale miners.
After all, why use a retort that collects mercury when it can, instead, just be poured into a river? And why shouldn’t children, especially orphans who had lost parents in mining accidents and need the means to survive, be put to work, especially when attending school is unaffordable?
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