Editing Child labour (section)

===Mining in Africa===
[[File:Diamond miners-1-.jpg|thumb|left|[[Child labour in the diamond industry|Children engaged in diamond mining]] in [[Sierra Leone]]]]

In 2008, Bloomberg claimed child labour in [[copper]] and [[cobalt]] mines that supplied Chinese companies in Congo. The children are ''creuseurs'', that is they dig the ore by hand, carry sacks of ores on their backs, and these are then purchased by these companies. Over 60 of [[Katanga Province|Katanga's]] 75 processing plants are owned by Chinese companies and 90 per cent of the region's minerals go to China.<ref>{{cite news|title=China Lets Child Workers Die Digging in Congo Mines for Copper|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|date=22 July 2008|author1=Simon Clark |author2=Michael Smith |author3=Franz Wild |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aW8xVLQ4Xhr8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112063831/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aW8xVLQ4Xhr8|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 January 2015}}</ref> An African NGO report claimed 80,000 child labourers under the age of 15, or about 40% of all miners, were supplying ore to Chinese companies in this African region.<ref>{{cite web|title=Strengthening the Civil society Perspective: China's African impact |pages=9–15 |last=Marks |first=Stephen |year=2010 |publisher=Fahamu |url=http://www.fahamu.org/downloads/strengthening_the_civil_society_perspective.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104005117/http://www.fahamu.org/downloads/strengthening_the_civil_society_perspective.pdf |archive-date=4 January 2011}}</ref>
[[Amnesty International]] alleged in 2016 that some cobalt sold by [[Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt|Congo Dongfang Mining]] was produced by child labour, and that it was being used in [[lithium-ion batteries]] powering electric cars and mobile devices worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/01/child-labour-behind-smart-phone-and-electric-car-batteries/|title=Exposed: Child labour behind smart phone and electric car batteries|website=www.amnesty.org|date=19 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/business/batteries/congo-cobalt-mining-for-lithium-ion-battery/ |title=Cobalt mining for lithium ion batteries has a high human cost |first1=Todd C. |last1=Frankel |date=2016-09-30 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date= 2016-10-18}}</ref>

BBC, in 2012, accused [[Glencore]] of using child labour in its mining and smelting operations of Africa. Glencore denied it used child labour, and said it has strict policy of not using child labour. The company claimed it has a strict policy whereby all copper was mined correctly, placed in bags with numbered seals and then sent to the smelter. Glencore mentioned being aware of child miners who were part of a group of artisanal miners who had without authorisation raided the concession awarded to the company since 2010; Glencore has been pleading with the government to remove the artisanal miners from the concession.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mining giant Glencore accused in child labour and acid dumping row|last=Sweeney|first=John|newspaper=The Guardian|date=14 April 2012|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/apr/14/glencore-child-labour-acid-dumping-row}}</ref>

Small-scale [[artisanal mining]] of gold is another source of dangerous child labour in poor rural areas in certain parts of the world.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Poisonous Mix - Child Labour, Mercury, and Artisanal Gold Mining in Mali|publisher=Human Rights Watch|year=2011|url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/mali1211_forinsertWebUpload_0.pdf |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20120417120848/https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/mali1211_forinsertWebUpload_0.pdf |archive-date=17 April 2012 |isbn=978-1-56432-831-1}}</ref> This form of mining uses labour-intensive and low-tech methods. It is informal sector of the economy. [[Human Rights Watch]] group estimates that about 12 per cent of global gold production comes from artisanal mines. In west Africa, in countries such as [[Mali]] – the third largest exporter of gold in Africa – between 20,000 and 40,000 children work in artisanal mining. Locally known as ''orpaillage'', children as young as six years old work with their families. These children and families suffer chronic exposure to toxic chemicals including [[Mercury poisoning|mercury]], and do hazardous work such as digging shafts and working underground, pulling up, carrying and crushing the ore. The poor work practices harm the long-term health of children, as well as release hundreds of tons of mercury every year into local rivers, ground water and lakes. Gold is important to the economy of Mali and Ghana. For Mali, it is the second largest earner of its export revenue. For many poor families with children, it is the primary and sometimes the only source of income.<ref>{{cite web|title=Child labour in gold mining|publisher=ILO, United Nations|year=2012|url=http://www.ilo.org/ipec/areas/Miningandquarrying/MoreaboutCLinmining/lang--en/index.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Artisanal Gold Mining: Unglamorous Practices at High Prices |last=Garcia |first=Sandra |publisher=Mining Magazine |date=April 2010 |url=http://magazine.mining.com/issues/1003/Vol03-02-ArtisanalGoldMining-36-38.pdf }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>