Silverback Mountain by Bindi Irwin

Author:Bindi Irwin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Random House Australia
Published: 2011-10-13T04:00:00+00:00

Bindi knew that they didn’t have much time if they wanted to keep track of Sifa. She and Peter took off at a run. They watched from behind a tree as Sifa gathered her belongings and jogged away from the camp towards the jungle.

A concerned Peter turned to Bindi. ‘I’m not sure we should leave the camp,’ he said.

‘Come on, let’s just see where she’s going,’ pleaded Bindi. ‘We don’t have to do anything. Just watch and then if it’s nothing, it’s nothing.’

Peter nodded slowly. ‘Well, I can take you to where I think the area is but you have to promise you’ll stay with me at all times. This isn’t a playground. These people could be dangerous, Bindi, and if they are mining then their operation would be earning them a lot of money.’

Bindi nodded. ‘Sure. I understand.’

The two of them entered the thick scrub. They continued on for about fifteen minutes until Peter finally slowed down and held out a hand, indicating they should stop. He crouched down behind a thick tree trunk wrapped in vines and whispered, ‘I think that is the area they are all talking about.’ He pointed to a small clearing.

Bindi was surprised she had been able to see this area from the aeroplane. It was very cleverly disguised by a handmade canopy of thick grass and papaya leaves, to hide the mined earth underneath.

From below the canopy, Bindi could see people sifting dirt through pans and hauling dirt in and out of tunnels by pushing rough wooden carts.

‘It certainly looks like a mine!’ whispered Bindi.

There was a narrow stream running down one side of the mining area. Basins were being dug into the streams to slosh the dirt in the water around.

From what Claude had told her about mining coltan, Bindi knew that it would settle at the bottom of the wash basins, just as it did when people had once panned for gold during the gold rush in Australia.

‘Keep your head down, we mustn’t be seen,’ whispered a very nervous Peter.

The entire area was surrounded by armed guards dressed in camouflage military gear. They didn’t look like the kind of men who would take kindly to kids trespassing on their worksite.

‘What should we do?’ asked Bindi in a low voice.

‘Just sit tight.’

Bindi was trying to think of a plan when she noticed a group of children coming out of one of the tunnels. A familiar face was among them. It was Sifa.

‘There she is!’ whispered Bindi.

As they watched it became clear to Bindi that the children weren’t hanging around to play but were actually working in the mine.

Bindi turned to Peter. ‘Kids work in these mines?’ she asked, incredulous.

Peter nodded seriously. ‘Yes, they do.’

Bindi stared at Peter with a horrified expression on her face. ‘But this mine looks completely unsafe!’ cried Bindi.

Peter shrugged. ‘This is an illegal mine, Bindi, so they do not take proper care of their workers.’

Bindi desperately tried to think about what they could do to help. She had

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.