Mozambique’s Illegal Miners Reap Risky Rewards but Land Suffers

What’s the context? In Mozambique’s Manica, illegal miners take huge risks while farmers grapple with mercury in the soil and polluted water.

• Illegal miners flock to Mozambique’s Manica to seek gold
• Miners lack protection but say risks are worth reward
• Mining activities pollute rivers and soil, farmers say

MANICA, Mozambique – Digging for gold and jewels is backbreaking and dangerous work, carried out without the most basic protective equipment, and it is illegal.

But for the barefoot miners in…