Some villages in the Dareta district of Nigeria's Zamfara state hide a deadly secret. Unregulated mining activities near the area are leading to scores of deaths.

The villages have been contaminated with high concentrations of lead, spread by dust from illegal open pit gold mines, and by women processing the ore in compounds where children play barefoot.

Over 170 children have died across six villages in the district in the past month and more are likely to suffer long term brain damage.

Miners use lead to help leach gold from ground-up rock, but they refuse to accept that using lead can be dangerous.

[Abubarkar Dareta, Local Miner]: (gender unknown, Hausa)
"I don't think it was our mining that caused the death of our brothers and sisters in this village, I have been mining for years but I am not dead."

While foreign experts have been sent to help with the clean up, there is little sign of local intervention to educate miners and communities about the dangers of lead.

Village heads in the region have called for more assistance from the government to help save lives.

One village head had to solve the problem locally due to a lack of outside assistance.

[Mohammed Dello, Village Head]: (Male, Hausa)
"This has brought disaster in my village, but with support of my people we managed to stop rampant deaths in our own way before the authority came in."

Assistance is now coming from the government and international agencies. But fresh graves point to a slowly unfolding tragedy.