Illegal mica mines in Bihar and Jharkhand employ child labour

Among the fashion conscious, mineral make up is all the rage these days. It uses natural minerals and is said to be a healthier for the skin than ordinary products. But the process of extraction of these minerals, particularly mica, using child labour in India is now causing concern.
Mica can be found in the mines of Jharkhand and Bihar. Most of it is extracted from illegal mines using child labour (in 2012, the export of mica was over eight times the country's officially stated production).Madhu Kumar, a five-year-old girl, works with her older sister and mother to separate mica flakes; her father and brothers too work in the mines. Her family has been doing this job for generations and this seems to be the only viable future for the five year old. It is important to integrate children like Madhu into the education system of the country.
The Bachpan Bachao Andolan has estimated that over 5,000 children work in these illegal mines. Children as young as five years of age are found working in hazardous conditions. These children work for 5-6 days per week, 7-8 hours per day extracting mica and earn less than Rs 18 per hour. They operate sharp and heavy tools, are susceptible to inhaling dust from stone cutting and are at risk injury from falling stones. These children are also made to carry more than 15 kg of mica for several kilometres to the intermediaries in towns. Their homes are often several kilometres away as these illegal mines are to be found in jungles.
DanWatch carried out field research in Jharkhand and Bihar and found strong ties between the regions' biggest buyers of mica and the world's largest makeup brands. The research displayed the lack of transparency of these make up brands as 12 out of 16 companies refused to disclose where they receive their mica from. The German pharmaceutical company Merck which supplies the international makeup brand L'Oreal admits to getting its mica from exporters in Jharkhand and Bihar. Interestingly, Merck declares that this mica is extracted from legal mines. But research carried out by DanWatch suggests the contrary, pointing out that it is impossible to differentiate between mica extracted from legal and illegal mines. Local exporters have maintained that the number of legal mines has decreased drastically since the 90s.
These operations are a matter of concern but a bigger concern is that the livelihood of these miners depends on this industry. Many mica miners ran away from DanWatch researchers because they were aware of the illegal nature of their jobs.