FACTBOX: AIDS and the mining sector

LONDON (Reuters) - South America, Africa and Asia -- the world's three main mining continents -- face a major health challenge as workers risk infection with AIDS, hampering operations at a time of booming demand for minerals.

Here are some key questions about mining and AIDS -- the world's leading cause of death among adults aged under 60.

WHERE IS AIDS INFECTION GROWING FASTEST?

AIDS is growing most rapidly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, a resource-rich area where the number of people living with HIV has grown 20-fold in less than a decade to 1.5 million in 2005.

The biggest epidemic in Central Asia is in Uzbekistan, which possesses large mineral resources such as gold, copper, zinc, coal and uranium and straddles major drug trafficking routes.

The number of reported HIV cases has nearly tripled to 31,000 in 2005 since 2003. Much smaller epidemics are underway in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

With copper prices nearly quadrupling, and gold prices rising by more than 50 percent since the start of 2004, interest in new mining projects has rocketed.

As mines are depleted in traditional areas such as Canada, Australia and Africa, exploration has moved to more remote areas such as Mongolia and Papua New Guinea.

WHY ARE MINERS IN THE FRONTLINE?

The majority of mine workers are men and many risk their lives daily by going deep underground to look for metals. Many work 12-hour days with only short breaks for 10 days in a row. Many are migrant workers, despite efforts by larger mining firms to stop employing migrants. The absence of social constraints that prevail at home, loneliness and boredom create a high-risk environment. These are the main reasons behind high HIV rates:

* high mobility

* isolation and working in confined environments

* majority are very young adults, sexually active

* male-dominated professions, macho culture

* access to and ready availability of sex workers

* stress; alcohol and drug use

* misinformation or lack of information about HIV

* inadequate access to health services

WHAT ARE THE RISKS FOR MINING COMPANIES OF INACTION?

A shortage of highly trained mining engineers means a severe AIDS epidemic could seriously threaten mine production. With more employees falling sick due to HIV/AIDS, companies face increased costs for health insurance, sick leave and funeral benefits. Companies also bear the costs of recruiting and training new staff. Lower morale due to illness and loss of co-workers threatens the stable environment needed to sustain operations. Figures have shown an untreated employee may cost his company over three times as much as his annual salary.

WHAT ARE MINING COMPANIES DOING ABOUT IT?

In May this year health experts from seven mining giants met for the first time in London, forming a group organized by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) to come up with an improved strategy on how to halt the spread of AIDS.

Most large mining corporations have an HIV strategy in place, small and medium-sized companies have fewer policies.

Most large international organizations like the ILO, the World Bank and UNAIDS have written guidelines for the sector. Worldwide policies include the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) HIV/AIDS Resource Guide for the Mining Sector, which provides briefing notes and case studies.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS FOR GOVERNMENTS?

AIDS strikes people in their most productive years and forces countries to reassess budgeting decisions, as they must decide whether to divert spending to healthcare.

The growing need for services and declining revenue leaves governments with increasing deficits, deterring the possibility of foreign investment. The decline in consumer spending as a result of HIV/AIDS is also associated with a decrease in government revenue.

Overall losses in GDP have been estimated at about 2 percent in nations with HIV infection over 10 percent.

WHAT ARE GOVERNMENTS DOING ABOUT IT?

Governments have put pressure on pharmaceutical companies to cut the cost of antiretroviral drugs to about $500 per patient annually in 2002 from around $12,000 in the mid-1990s.

Countries such as Thailand, Brazil and Uganda have managed to avoid infection rates at the level in South Africa through awareness program and condom-distribution. But other governments have HIV further down the agenda, especially in regions where the disease is concentrated among prisoners, sex workers and drug users.

Although some governments lack a national strategy, there are local authorities that work together with non-governmental organizations and international agencies.

Sources: the International Labour Organisation, the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, UNAIDS and the United Nations Development Programme