saturn

Japan’s Minister for Administrative Reform Taro Kono speaks during an interview in Tokyo, Japan, December 10, 2015. Japan may review spending on reprocessing plutonium for use in nuclear reactors, a minister appointed to identify wasteful expenditure told Reuters, following years of government outlay on a controversial programme that has yield no results. REUTERS/Thomas Peter – RTX1Y2AQ

Half of the workforce of the artisanal mining sector is comprised of children. Without viable economic alternatives, most children must join their parents in rudimentary mining pits. Children as young as two years transport, wash, and crush minerals to earn half a dollar a day.