I would like to expand further on Vicky’s blog post regarding artisanal gold mining in West Africa from this article.
Poverty has been a prominent issue in Africa for a long time. It is not surprising that impoverished workers would willingly work as artisanal gold miners, no matter how harsh the working conditions are, to scrounge a tiny income for the families, as they could not otherwise survive.
However, I do not agree with Vicky’s viewpoint that as long as the trade is legal and agreed by both mineworkers and mining companies, there is nothing unethical. The mining companies aim to increase profits while engaging in open competition without deception or fraud. Based on Friedman’s theory, they seem to have fulfilled their social responsibility as business corporations. However, using artisanal miners from time to time as an unofficial exploration team and hence subjecting them to dangerous and poisonous working conditions is definitely considered as an exploitation of workers and therefore unethical. While the international mining companies should not held solely responsible for miners’ welfare, they could at least invest more in mining technologies to improve the overall working conditions and efficiency for workers. Governments may also negotiate with foreign companies to ensure the welfare of ordinary citizens is not compromised extensively.
Image and Website sources:
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1033811415