Toxic Trade - Mining in Tanzania

Thousands of children, some as young as eight-years-old, risk serious injury and even death from work in small-scale gold mining in Tanzania. Many children, especially orphans, lack basic necessities and seek employment in mining to support themselves and their relatives.

A Human Rights Watch Report examines child labor and exposure to mercury in small-scale gold mining in Tanzania, Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer. Children dig and drill in deep, unstable pits for shifts of up to 24 hours, transport and crush heavy bags of gold ore, and process the gold with mercury. Exposure to mercury vapor can cause neurological and developmental problems and it is particularly harmful to children. In some cases work in mining also affects children’s attendance and performance at school and places girls at risk of sexual harassment and exploitation. While the Tanzanian government has taken some important steps to reduce child labor and mercury exposure in gold mining, it has failed to adequately enforce its child labor laws and address some of the socioeconomic problems contributing to child labor. The government has also failed to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to address the harmful effects of mercury. Tanzania’s president John Magufuli is now trying to increase the pressure on big companies such as Acacia Goldmine to improve working conditions and pay regular taxes. At the meantime many companies are banned from exporting any goods.

Despite some funding to assist small-scale miners and to reduce child labor in sectors such as agriculture and domestic work, few donor initiatives specifically address child labor or mercury use in small-scale gold mining. Moreover, Tanzanian traders and international companies have not done enough to eliminate unlawful child labor in their supply chains. The Tanzanian government, with the support of the international community, should end child labor in small-scale gold mining, improve support for orphans and other vulnerable children, strengthen access to education, and reduce mercury use and exposure.