Young Workers At The Congo Mines - Stockfoto

LUBUMBASHI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - DECEMBER 14: An unidentified young man standing near a pit at a cobalt mine on December 14, 2005 in Ruashi mine about 20 kilometers outside Lubumbashi, Congo, DRC. Children as young as eight years old work in the mine under dangerous conditions. Every month a few of the miners are killed. Congo has one of the largest Copper deposits in the world and most of it is exported to China. It's fueling the thirst for minerals for China's economic boom. The young men who works in the mine makes a few US dollars a day, and the children much less. The mine is about one hundred years old and has been a source of wealth for the Katanga province for many years. In recent years many foreign companies and shady business people has moved into Congo to plunder its wealth. The country has no elected government and the corruption is rife. Border and customs officials are easily bribed. Congo has had a civil war since 1997 and it's estimated that nearly 4 million people has died in fighting and because of lack of health care. (Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)