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Koderma, Giridih (Jharkhand):Â Earlier this month, when the National Commission For Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) began probing a complaint against cosmetics brand âFenty Beautyâ, owned by pop star Rihanna, for allegedly using mica from mines in Jharkhand that use child labour, it shone the spotlight on a dark, illegal but thriving business in two remote districts of eastern India.Â
Mica, the shimmery, translucent mineral, is used in cosmetics and automobile paint among other sectors.
The illegal trade of scrap mica has been an open secret in Jharkhand since 1980, when mica mining was banned by environmental laws. A global appetite for the mineral and its abundance in mica-rich districts, however, has kept the practice going unregulated.Â
COVID-19 drives more people to risk lives in India’s illegal mica mines
Adults and children are seeking work in the industry, but the price for the mineral has more than halved, and deaths are continuing to rise
By Roli Srivastava / Thomson Reuters Foundation, MUMBAI, India
When India went into lockdown in March last year and Tota Rai lost his cleaning job in the textile hub of Surat, he knew that working in the illegal mica mining industry back home was his only option.
Rai, 45, and his three sons two adults and one teenager now spend their days scavenging for scraps of the valued mineral, used to put the sparkle into cosmetics, car paint and electronics, to sell to local traders in eastern Jharkhand state.