A Poisonous Mix

Child Labor, Mercury, and Gold Mining in Mali


“I started gold mining at a small age,” said a 15-year-old girl who lives in Mali. “I pan for gold, I also work with mercury... I also burn it. I have never heard that this is unhealthy. I work with mercury every day.”
Governments from around the world recently met to negotiate an international treaty on mercury, which is often used in artisanal mining to separate out gold. Human Rights Watch was there, and helped push for the treaty to include language on protecting the health of miners – children, in particular. But the treaty needs to be stronger still.
Around the world, roughly a million children mine for gold. Many of them work with mercury, the silvery liquid metal that is one of the most toxic substances on earth. Even small doses of its vapor can cause mercury poisoning.
On December 6, Human Rights Watch will release a new report on how children labor under horrible conditions in Mali’s mines, which annually produce gold worth US$218 million at current prices. Almost all of these children work with mercury, but Mali’s government has not done enough to address the health and environmental effects of mercury.