Running like a river beneath the sands of West Africa, massive rock strata laden with gold stretch from northern Ghana, across Mali and Burkina Faso and deep into Niger. Gold has been extracted from this part of Africa for centuries, but only in recent times has Burkina Faso been able to exploit the abundance of gold beneath its soil.
Landlocked, Burkina Faso is wedged between Mali and Niger to the northwest and east, and borders Ghana on the north. Although large foreign countries had mined Burkina Faso gold for almost half a century, it wasn't until the famines of the 1980s forced families off their farms that artisanal or small-scale mining took root. Since then, thousands have migrated to the gold fields, abandoning their agrarian roots to toil in the small-scale mining operations that dot the countryside.
To maximize profits, entire families work. And this means putting children to work as child laborers. Gold fever shows no sign of ending.
Read More from Source
