Child Mining Essay

Submitted By x0xlaylax0x
Words: 3369
Pages: 14
Open Document
The purpose of this report is to determine whether or not child mining is an ethical issue that deserves our attention. There are two contradicting views of child mining. One side that supports children working in mines by saying that it is an essential part of their survival and that all parties benefit from the process. The other side argues that it is a harmful and dangerous practice that takes away the child’s right to a safe life. To understand each sides argument we researched the subject in depth to determine all parties involved, cost and benefits received by each member, and the consequences of the children being in the mines. Ethical theories that were found to support child mining are Consequential Theories, which include: Utilitarianism and Altruism. The theories that go against child mining are Rights Theories and Virtue Ethics. They work under dangerous conditions where they are exposed to toxic chemicals, death due to mines collapsing above them, and injuries due to lack of experience. These children do not go to school because they are in the mines but they are able to eat. After careful consideration a decision was reached that child mining is unethical and the issue needs to be resolved. Some ways include stricter government regulations, institutions that pay the children to attend school, homes for children to live in so they are not pressured into working in a mine, and company and consumer awareness of gold that comes from mines that use child labor. After reading this paper the audience will be able to see the route taken to come to this conclusion and the validity behind the decision and resolution.

Hundreds of thousands of children around the world take part in the labor force of mining gold, diamonds, cocoa plant and many other resources. Some of these children range in ages from 5 up to 16. These children work in countries where the legal age to work starts at 18. These children work under dangerous conditions where they are asked to perform actions that many consider to be unethical. These jobs involve the risk of children being killed from explosions, rock falls, exposure to toxic chemicals, and self-induced injuries due to lack of training experience. This has become a significant issue in our society since more light has been shed on the risks and dangers that these children go through on a daily basis. Many businesses in the United States receive their raw materials such as gold, diamonds, and cocoa from countries that employ underage children. There are many opposing arguments on child labor as some people take the side that children should not be involved in these jobs while others make the argument that the alternative may be worse than what the children are currently engaged in. This is an important topic in Ethics in Business because there are several theories that apply to this issue such as; Rights Theories, Consequential Theories, Virtue Ethics, and Deontological Theories. Tanzania is a country in East Africa where children are employed in small-scale gold mines. This country is the fourth largest gold producer in Africa. Children as young as eight years old are working in these mines for up to 24 hour shifts. These gold companies do not provide safety gear such as gloves and face masks. The children handle the gold with their bare hands and breathe in toxins when the gold is being burned. Due to this the children are exposed to toxins such as, “Mercury, which is particularly harmful to children, attacks the central nervous system and can cause tremors and twitching, memory loss, and irreversible brain damage as well as damage to the kidneys and the lungs. A doctor in Papua New Guinea who treated small-scale miners for mercury poisoning, described his patients staring blankly at the wall as like “zombies” (Neff). Mercury is very dangerous because it causes developmental and neurological problems and is particularly harmful to children. We also see that
Show More

Related Documents: Child Mining Essay

Child Labor Essay example

Child Labor Child Labor is the use of children in fields such as manufacturing, agriculture or domestic work. In most cases the children work because their families need financial aid. Child labor became popular in the household when children were sent away to serve as apprentices and domestic labor for money at ages as young as eight or nine. Complaints and objections of child labor began within a few decades after the Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain. Some concerns of child labor were…

Words 318 - Pages 2

Essay on Child Labor

Social Issue: Child Labor http://eh.net/encyclopedia/child-labor-during-the-british-industrial-revolution/ Children worked before industrial rev.  helped around house The term “child labor” generally refers to children who work to produce a good or a service which can be sold for money in the marketplace regardless of whether or not they are paid for their work Started in rural textile mills Long hours, strict discipline, harsh punishment, unhealthy working conditions, low wages, and inflexible…

Words 797 - Pages 4

Child Labor Research Paper

To end the dependence of child labor in mines and prostitution the Tanzanian government must first address the issue of poverty in Mererani, Tanzania. The town produces a 300 million dollar business because it is the only place to find the rare Tanzanite gem. The children working in the mines do not see any of the money collected for these gems. The lucky ones work for a dollar a day, most go without pay or food for days on end. When mining is not an option women, and female children turn to…

Words 640 - Pages 3

Ap World History Dbq Industrial Revolution

factory to market. Steam engines were powered by coal and the increased use of the engines ensured an increase in the demand for coal production or mining. Populations grew in mining towns as a result of this dependence. In county Durham the population grew from 150000 to 2 million from 1801-1901 primarily due to coal production [3]. Coal mining was not without its effect on the miners working inside the mines. Pneumoconiosis is characterized by the growth of spots on lungs due to exposure to…

Words 1226 - Pages 5

Essay about Chilean: Audience Theory and Company

consideration when the world finds out about the disaster is the public or press. It is known that news reporters tend to escalate the turbulence of disasters to create interest in the public. For example, if a child fell from a 3 feet high ledge, the journalist may publish it saying, "hopeless child severely damages bones after an unfortunate fall from a 10 feet high ledge." It is because the history of these exaggerations that the company must consider how and when the news are told, what is told,…

Words 795 - Pages 4

Dame Shirley: A Yankee Lady In The California Mines

herself attempted panning for gold and found this practice to be a difficult and disappointing pursuit (Shirley Document, 177).This reminded me of my first time I went to Knott's Berry Farm as a child and how I used a mining pan to search for fake gold near the frontier area of the amusement park. As a child, I got very excited and actually believed it was real gold, and thought I was rich. Nevertheless, Shirley's descriptions…

Words 510 - Pages 3

Research Paper on Chile Labor

The Child Workforce Working helps people provide the necessities of life for themselves and their loved ones. Across America and other countries, children are working at unlawful ages, and sometimes against their will. The way that children are exploited and work in unsafe conditions with low pay is a clear violation of human rights. Stronger, more concrete government laws and regulations need to be enforced to prevent child labor across the entire globe. Many countries do not have or do…

Words 1869 - Pages 8

Bus Intelligence Essay

TRUE/FALSE 1) Data mining is a way for companies to develop business intelligence from their data to gain a better understanding of their customers and operations and to solve complex organizational problems. Answer: TRUE Diff: 1 Page Ref: 190 2) Data mining is a prime candidate for better management of companies that are data-rich, but knowledge-poor. Answer: TRUE Diff: 2 Page Ref: 193 3) Business analytics cannot be conducted in real time because it includes components such as metrics…

Words 1854 - Pages 8

Child Labor

Child labor is a current problem that still occurs since the 20th century and affects millions of minors around the world. Youths under eighteen years old are being affected both physically and mentally from their jobs. Today, in the Eastern hemisphere especially in Africa, millions of kids are forced to work for their family because they do not have the enough money to provide for the things they need. The rise of child labor started in the late 1700s and the early 1800s when the Industrial Revolution…

Words 1468 - Pages 6

Introduction: Rio Tinto Group and Billiton Essay

difference to BHP success as the new Billion parents. 7-10 References 10-11 Introduction In this assignment I will be looking at Billiton a company that is in the mining industry the company main products are metals and petroleum. This is assessment I will talk about shells acquisition of Billiton and see if the acquisition was related to diversification I will also talk about the difference in the merger of Shell…

Words 3168 - Pages 13