Breaking the Chain Ending the supply of child-mined minerals

Artisanal and small-scale mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo, an economic activity upon which an estimated 12 to 15 percent of the population relies,2 often involves child labor. The complex economic and societal considerations that drive children to work in the cassiterite, coltan, and wolfram mines in the northern parts of the country’s Katanga province are complex. Pact undertook this study to better understand the motivating factors and the context that lead children to work in mines. Insights from this research enable Pact and others to implement appropriate, realistic interventions for child miners in the DRC.