A/HRC/18/30 as either it costs too much to get the legal permit to mine or there is no need to get a permit as the law is not enforced. These “frontier communities” are riddled with violence, crime, trafficking in young girls and women for sexual exploitation, prostitution, drug and alcohol use (ibid.). There have been reports that children are given drugs so that they are able to fearlessly extract minerals underground or underwater. Children also take drugs and alcohol in the belief that it makes them stronger and as a result of peer pressure. The drug abuse (particularly amphetamines and marijuana) and alcohol (commercial and/or local brew) destroy their health and keep them in the vicious circle of poverty. Children who arrive alone to work in this sector are even more vulnerable to abuses (see A/HRC/18/30/Add.2). 53. Working in “frontier communities” or in remote mines, children are often subject to moral turpitude. They are continuously exposed to physical violence from adult miners and their employers. Children are also at risk of sexual violence such as rape and other forms of sexual abuse. In some cases, children are also forced into prostitution. This has a huge impact on the child’s mental well-being and exposes the child to HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Without any proper guardianship, unaccompanied children fall easily prey to alcohol and drug addictions, which further perpetuate their poverty (ibid.). 54. Poor living and working conditions have an impact on the health and safety of children. As a result of unsanitary living conditions, children often suffer from diseases such as tuberculosis and diarrhoea. B. Children in mining 55. Children working in mines are physically and economically exploited, as they are required to spend long hours in poorly lit and ventilated underground mines for little or no payment. When they are paid, children performing the same tasks as adults are paid less than adults. These makeshift mines may run to over 80 metres underground and, in some instances, can only accommodate the width of children who crawl to excavate the ore. Children also set explosives to blast rock underground and carry heavy loads of ore to the surface. Children who do not work inside a mine may be found digging for long hours in rivers beds, shifting through sand or silt and then carrying heavy loads of mud on their heads or backs for further processing. The long hours working outside, without proper clothing or shelter results in exposure to extreme heat, cold, dryness and moisture. 56. Children working in mines run the risk of spinal injuries and physical deformities as a result of the heavy loads carried. They also face injury and sometimes death as a result of working in makeshift mines and handling explosives. Children mining underwater and underground risk death by suffocation and asphyxiation. 57. Children working in this sector commonly suffer respiratory illnesses such as silicosis due to the inhaling of rock dust. Many children are injured, disabled and sometimes die as a result of: the collapse of mine walls or roofs; handling explosives or drilling equipment; and using crude tools. These health risks may occur immediately or long after the children have been working in this sector. 58. Children work without any training, safety equipment or protection. They are exposed to heat, noise, toxic metals and hazardous chemicals such as mercury and cyanide. Mercury is used in the extraction of gold in artisanal mining areas. As children are sometimes regarded as less suitable to labour intensive work, they are often given work in mercury amalgamation. As children do not wear any protective equipment, they absorb mercury through their hands and inhale it when it burns. The mercury impacts on: the nervous system of the child resulting in uncontrollable tremors – particularly in the 13