Nasarawa, Nigeria — Six-year-old Juliet Samaniya toils under the blistering sun, wearing an old pink dress as she chips away at a rough white rock with a stone tool. With her tiny hands and hair covered in dust, she works tirelessly for less than a dollar a day. The surrounding area is filled with both active and abandoned mining sites, agricultural lands that could soon be cleared for more mining operations, and other workers, many of whom are children.
Juliet should be attending school, her mother, Abigail Samaniya, acknowledges. However, the necessity to earn money for her family has forced her into lithium mining—a crucial mineral needed for batteries in the global shift towards clean energy. “This is our only option,” Abigail states, illustrating the harsh reality facing many families in the region.
According to the International Labour Organization, over one million children are engaged in mining and quarrying globally, with the issue particularly prevalent across Africa. Factors such as poverty, limited access to education, and poor regulatory oversight exacerbate the situation. Children work long hours in small-scale, unsafe mines, sorting and crushing rocks, carting heavy loads of ore, and risking exposure to harmful dust, which can lead to serious respiratory issues. The rise in lithium demand has ushered in a mining boom in resource-rich Nigeria, but this comes at a grave cost—exploiting its most vulnerable population, its children. Their labor often fuels the operations of Chinese businesses that dominate Nigeria’s poorly regulated mining sector, often criticized for illegal practices and labor exploitation.
A recent investigation uncovered the operations of illegal mines in Pasali, situated close to Nigeria’s federal capital, Abuja, revealing the challenges faced by miners, including children like Juliet. The search for lithium has led to unregulated agreements between local miners and Chinese companies, with little inquiry regarding the sources of their raw materials. Despite multiple attempts to contact RSIN Nigeria Limited, a key Chinese company in the area, they did not respond. However, the Chinese embassy asserted that their companies adhere to local laws.
Nigeria has laws that require basic education and prohibit child labor, yet enforcement is a significant challenge due to the remote locations of many illegal mines and corruption within regulatory bodies. Although the government aims to reform these laws and has established a Mining Marshals Corps earlier this year to address illegal activities, advocates contend that it is too early to determine the effectiveness of these measures.
Lithium mining in Pasali began roughly a decade ago, awakening a once-quiet community into a hub for small-scale illicit mining, according to Shedrack Bala, a 25-year-old who has been in the industry since he was 15. The mining activities are primitive and hazardous; miners use rudimentary tools to extract minerals, descending into perilous pits, often crawling through tight mud tunnels that can collapse at any moment. For the newest mines, explosives like dynamite are used to break the ground.
Bashir Rabiu, now 19, reflects on his time as a child laborer in these hazardous conditions. Observers from the investigation watched as he navigated the depths of a mine, where the risk of premature dynamite detonations looms large. Miners face substantial hazards such as suffocation in cramped tunnels and the potential for fatal cave-ins—dangers that Rabiu has witnessed befall others. “But God protects us,” he remarked.
Rabiu worked alongside other children, including Juliet, as they sorted and collected lithium ore. Equipped with basic attire, the children dedicated their efforts under the hot sun, extracting fragments to prepare them for the global market. A small team can process several bags of ore each day; during one visit, they efficiently sorted over 22 kilograms of material within an hour. For their grueling labor, they typically share a meager sum of around 4,000 naira (approximately $2.42), enough to provide meals for their families.
In Juliet’s group, only she and another child, Zakaria Danladi, ever attended school. Zakaria ceased schooling after becoming orphaned, while Juliet was forced to leave due to her family’s financial struggles, prioritizing her elder brother’s education. Although Nigeria claims to offer free basic education, families often face hidden costs, such as a 5,000 naira (around $3) fee per term imposed by the local Parent-Teacher Association, which is often unattainable for impoverished families—about 63% of Nigeria’s population lives in this precarious state.
The local schoolmaster, Sule Dantini, lamented the significant drop in attendance rates, revealing that only three pupils were present compared to the previous enrollment of nearly 300 students. “Mining has driven families to abandon their children’s education,” he explained, while denying any fee-related practices at the school.
Nigeria, while known for being Africa’s leading oil producer, possesses rich mineral resources like lithium. However, much of this wealth is siphoned through unlicensed operations, depriving the nation of substantial revenue. A recent parliamentary inquiry highlighted how illegal mining not only costs billions of dollars but also contributes to insecurity. Miners operate primarily through informal networks that evade government scrutiny. Aliyu Ibrahim, a lithium trader with unlicensed mines, confessed to the practice of bribing local officials to facilitate his operations while acknowledging the presence of child labor within the trade. “It’s risky, yet for many, this work is a necessity for survival,” he asserted.
Some minor operators forgo middlemen like Ibrahim and choose to directly engage with Chinese companies or individuals. An investigation revealed that unregulated agreements were being made between Pasali miners and Chinese firms, facilitated without inquiries about the minerals’ origins or extraction conditions. The pricing structure offered about 200,000 naira (approximately $119) for a metric ton of material containing lithium.
Chinese enterprises often face scrutiny for exploitative labor practices, and Nigeria has seen numerous cases of illegal mining and arrests involving Chinese nationals recently. Experts indicate that these materials are commonly exported via deceptive means, including false documentation. While the Chinese embassy professed a commitment to combat illegal activities, activists like Philip Jakpor from the Renevlyn Development Initiative highlighted a consistent pattern of child labor across Nasarawa state. “Economic gains seem to overshadow the pressing need to uphold human rights,” Jakpor asserted, urging players in the higher echelons of the supply chain to adopt more responsible practices.
Juliane Kippenberg from Human Rights Watch cautioned that with the anticipated surge in global lithium demand, it is crucial for governments worldwide to safeguard human rights and compel corporations to do the same. Segun Tomori, a representative of the Ministry of Mining and Solid Minerals Development, expressed that ongoing reforms aim to lessen child labor by revamping social welfare programs to retain children in educational systems. Moms like Abigail Samaniya express hopes that her daughter can one day break free from mining. “I dream of her going to school, achieving a better future, and working in an office rather than a mine,” she shared.
