Mines’ harsh human toll is no deep, dark secret

Congo’s resources ransacked for minerals used in high-tech devices

(Finbarr O’Reilly /Reuters (Above); Sasha Lezhnev/Grassroots Reconciliation Group (Below); Johan Spanner/New York Times (Bottom))

By Emily Sweeney

Globe Staff / March 15, 2010

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In the heart of central Africa, an exhausted young man toils at a dangerous job: digging up bits of minerals from the earth. While he earns little for his efforts, soldiers that illegally control the mine reap the profits. The fruits of his labor are smuggled to neighboring countries, sold to multinational companies, and processed into metals that end up ... (Full article: 1211 words)