Thousands of child laborers as young as 9 years old are risking their lives diving and digging for gold in small-scale mines in the Philippines, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The children work in unstable 25-meter-deep pits, underwater, along the shore or in rivers, and process gold with mercury, a toxic metal, the New York-based rights group said in a 39-page report that documented the illegal practice in Camarines Norte and Masbate provinces in central Philippines.
Read more: Philippine Children Risk Lives Mining Gold, Rights Group Says