Examples of child labour in small-scale mining are abundant. In Guinea , boys of 14 to 16 years of age work in diamond mines, usually at very low pay, digging gravel in trenches, removing water with buckets and diverting streams and rivers using sandbags. Surveys undertaken by the ILO in Madagascar and Burkina Faso found hundreds of child labourers in small-scale mines and quarries, many working as much as 10 hours per day alongside their impoverished family members. Other mined products include salt, gypsum, gold and construction materials. In the Mollehuaca region of Peru , children working underground are exposed to very harsh conditions, doing much the same work as adults in 12-hour shifts.
Many children work in stone mills.
Levels of mercury contamination are high and adults and children alike suffer from respiratory and other mine-related illnesses. Their small size allows them to reach places inaccessible adults and to operate at higher speed, but the heavy loads, cramped conditions and unhealthy, to awkward working conditions take a heavy toll on the development of snake boys. Report for discussion at the Tripartite Meeting on Social and Labour Issues in Small-scale Mines. International Labour Office, Geneva, 1999. 17.50 Swiss francs.