Buyers urged to avoid mica mined by children

Indian officials appealed to local traders on Tuesday to stop buying mica mined by child workers, as the government comes under pressure from activists to clamp down on child labor.

Thousands of children risk their lives working for a pittance in India's crumbling mica mines, extracting the sparkly mineral used in lipsticks and eye-shadow as well as electronics.

Officials from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights visited the eastern state of Jharkhand this month to assess the extent of child labor in its mica mines. The state, along with Bihar state, produces about three-quarters of the mica mined in India.