https://www.miningweekly.com

NGO raises concerns about child labour in Ghana’s gold sector

GHANA CHILD LABOUR CHALLENGE Children pull gold ore out of shafts, carry and crush loads of ore and process it with toxic mercury

Photo by Human Rights Watch

JULIANE KIPPENBERG Gold refiners should take “immediate steps” to eliminate child labour in their supply chains

24th July 2015

By: Ilan Solomons

Creamer Media Staff Writer

  

Font size: - +

International gold refiners who use gold from Ghana may be benefiting from hazardous child labour in unlicensed mines, warns independent human rights organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW).

HRW further stresses that the refiners should take “immediate steps” to eliminate child labour in their supply chains.

This is according to an 82-page report entitled, ‘Precious Metal, Cheap Labour: Child Labour and Corporate Responsibility in Ghana’s Artisanal Gold Mines,’ which the human rights body released last month.

The report documents the use of child labour in Ghana’s artisanal, or unlicensed, mines, where most mining takes place.

It is estimated that thousands of children work in hazardous conditions in violation of Ghanaian and international law. The children pull the gold ore out of shafts, carry and crush loads of ore and process it with toxic mercury. Most child labourers are between the ages of 15 and 17, but younger children also work in Ghana’s mines.

“Some work may be acceptable for children, but Ghana’s unlicensed gold mines are very dangerous places where no child should work,” states HRW senior childrens’ rights researcher and report author Juliane Kippenberg.

She says that companies buying gold mined in Ghana should exert control over their whole supply chain to make sure they are not benefiting from child labour.

HRW conducted field research into the use of children in gold mining in western, central and the Ashanti regions since 2013. Researchers visited ten artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing sites, and interviewed over 160 people, including 44 child miners between the ages of 9 and 17.

HRW also met with 20 gold traders in Ghana and gold refining companies outside the country.

Children have been injured and, in at least one case, died in mine collapses; others suffer from pain and respiratory problems caused by their work.

The organisation notes that these children also risk brain damage and other life-long disabilities from mercury poisoning. Most children who work at the mines attend school, and some work specifically to cover school-related costs. However, many attend school irregularly or drop out.

Major international gold refiners from Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and other countries use artisanally mined gold from Ghana, one of the world’s top ten gold producers.

HRW states that the supply chain resembles a funnel, with many traders buying gold from many mining sites and with fewer and fewer companies involved as it moves along the supply chain until it reaches a small number of international refiners.

After the gold has been refined, it is sold to banks, jewellery businesses, the electronics industry and other enterprises.

HRW examined the “due diligence” policies and procedures of six international refiners that buy gold from Ghana, namely Metalor, Produits Artistiques Métaux Précieux (PAMP), Kaloti Jewellery International, Emirates Gold, Kundan and Rand Refinery.

HRW says that several of these companies have been found to have weaknesses in their procedures, such as lacking control over their supply chain or failing to report publicly on their due diligence measures or not carrying out systematic child labour monitoring.

HRW communicated its findings to the companies and received written responses from Metalor, Kaloti, PAMP and Rand Refinery, which stopped buying gold from Ghana in 2014, and met with Emirates Gold, Kaloti and PAMP.

HRW emphasises that companies should have clear policies against child labour, including requiring regular monitoring through unannounced inspections by people knowledgeable about child labour and full chain-of-custody documentation and should ensure that all contracts with suppliers include specific language prohibiting child labour.

“Many local gold traders have done little to determine whether the gold they buy is produced [using] child labour and regularly buy at unlicensed mining sites where child labour often occurs,” the human rights body alleges.

Moreover, HRW states that three of Ghana’s four largest gold exporting companies said that they had sometimes bought gold they could not trace back to the mine.

“Only one said that it was exclusively buying gold at licensed mines.”

HRW says the Ghanaian govern- ment-owned gold trading company, Precious Metals Marketing Company (PMMC), has no proce- dures to determine whether children have been involved in producing the gold it buys.

“PMMC provides trading licences for about 700 individual buying agents and trading companies without obliging traders to use any human rights criteria, including those regarding child labour, when purchasing gold.

“The government Minerals Commission provides export licences without requiring human rights monitoring, though it informed HRW it is considering such a step.”

Kippenberg further points out that governments should make human rights due diligence a requirement in producing countries such as Ghana and in countries where the gold is traded and refined, such as Switzerland and the UAE.

She adds that artisanal and small-scale gold mining is poorly regulated in Ghana.

Kippenberg says the majority of mines operate without mining licences, which are costly and difficult to obtain.

“Labour, environment and other regulations are often not enforced. Additionally, Ghanaian law allows the use of mercury for artisanal gold mining. Although it is particularly harmful to children, mercury is available in gold trading shops and [supplied] by gold traders to child labourers,” she highlights.

An international treaty, the 2013 Minamata Convention on Mercury, sets out steps to reduce mercury exposure, but Ghana has not ratified it.

“The government of Ghana has done far too little to protect its citizens from this toxic chemical. It should promptly start introducing mercury-free gold processing techniques, and ratify the Minamata Convention and put its requirements into effect,” states Kippenberg.

Kaloti Precious Metals Responds to HRW

 Date: February 4,2015

To: Ms. Juliane Kippenberg
Senior Researcher
Children's Rights Division

REFERENCE TO YOU LETTER DATED 19TH DECEMBER 2014

Dear Ms. Juliane

Greetings from Kaloti Precious Metals

We have received your above captioned letter regarding your research on child labor, environmental, and health issues in the Ghanaian gold mining industry and we highly appreciate your work in this area. We thank you for sharing with us the preliminary findings of your research and inviting us to contribute in your ongoing research and take this opportunity to submit the following information in relation to our company:

1. Kaloti Precious metals only deals with licensed suppliers from Ghana that are registered with the Minerals Commission of Ghana;

2. As a Dubai Good Delivery refinery, we are required to maintain robust supply chain due­ diligence as per with the DMCC Guidelines for Responsible Sourcing of Precious Metals that are based on the OECD principles (available on http://www.dmcc.aelgold-responsible-sourcing­ precious-metals). These guidelines also adequately address human rights and environmental issues and are an integral part of our compliance policy and procedures that can be viewed on our website (http://www.kalotipm.com/Sustainability);

3. Kaloti Precious Metals has an elaborate and independent compliance function that operates under direct supervision of the Board of Directors. Our compliance team constantly monitors any updates on country risk ratings and reviews any new policies/regulations/notifications/reports with respect to human rights and environmental preservation from UN, Human Rights Watch, OECD, and other such global institutions. These updates are regularly incorporated in our compliance policies that are discussed, approved and monitored by our Board of Directors;

4. In addition to incorporating human rights and environmental regulations in all practical aspects of our supply chain due-diligence mechanism, we educate our suppliers by sharing with them our compliance policies and procedures, elaborating them to our suppliers, and ensuring that our suppliers maintain full compliance with the same. We duly notify the regulator of any suspicious cases or non-complaint suppliers and seek disengagement with the suppliers that do not satisfy our compliance requirements;

5.   While operating  in regions such as Western Ghana and especially before directly  I indirectly dealing with  suppliers in any region, Kaloti Precious Metals conducts site visits as part of the continual due-diligence  procedure  which includes identification of all suppliers in the chain of custody, mining and processing procedures with an aim to identify environmental risks, signs of child labor in the workforce, local market and government  opinion  on the mining company and its practices, documentary proof of physical presence, mining licenses, documents on beneficial owners, compliance related declarations from beneficial owners etc. We do not take any mining company onboard without a satisfactory completion of a rigorous compliance check. Site visits to Ghanaian suppliers is conducted once a year with the last visits completed in June 2014. During our latest visit we also met Government officials who assured us of their procedures and monitoring activities  to  eliminate   child  labor  in  the  Ghanaian  mines.  Therefore,  we  have eliminated  any risk pertaining  to Child Labor or any Human Rights abuses in our supply chain; amongst other regulatory compliance related aspects.  Kaloti will be conducting another  round of site visits in Ghana in the second quarter of this year to ensure that all aspects of responsible sourcing are intact and to further  educate our suppliers of the importance  of maintaining  and practicing our responsible sourcing policy and procedures;

6.   Kaloti Precious Metals has a robust TRACK-AND-TRACE mechanism in  place and engages in tracing the origin of gold back to the mine in all cases whether in Ghana or any other country of origin;

7.   Kaloti Precious Metals   maintains   proper   documentation on   all   its  suppliers  and  their transactions for a period of 5 years and constantly updates this information. This documentation is verified  and reviewed  during  our  annual statutory supply chain audit  in  accordance with DMCC Review Protocol (available  on http://www.dmcc.ae/gold-responsible-sourcing-precious-metals);

8.   Kaloti Precious Metals has been audited against DMCC Guidelines for  responsible sourcing of minerals which are based on the OECD principles; with the last audit completed in August 2014 by an independent  and internationally reputed third  party firm  'Grant Thornton'. We are happy to report  that  Kaloti Precious Metals is Fully Complaint  with  DMCC Guidelines for responsible sourcing of precious metals. Our latest Audit Reports can be viewed  on our website (http://www.kalotipm.com/Sustainability).

We hope that you will find the above information in order and useful for the purpose of your research. We look forward to viewing your report the subject of which bears significant importance  for us.

Sincerely,

Dina Kaloti

Director of Compliance

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

Comments

Latest News

The integration of Alamos' Island Gold mine (pictured) and Argonaut's Magino mine will create synergies of $515-million.
Alamos buys rival Argonaut
27th March 2024 By: Mariaan Webb

Showroom

Multotec
Multotec

Multotec, recognised industry leaders in metallurgy and process engineering help mining houses across the world process minerals more efficiently,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Schauenburg SmartMine IoT
Schauenburg SmartMine IoT

SmartMine IoT has been developed with the mining industry in mind, to provides our customers with powerful business intelligence and data modelling...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
27th March 2024
Resources Watch
Resources Watch
27th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.156 0.187s - 88pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now