NBC News will air an expose on children in Madagascar as young as three who are working in slave-like conditions to mine the mica that powers phones and cars

Cynthia McFadden traveled to the country for the report, the first part of which will air Monday on Today during the 7am to 9am hours followed by part two on NBC Nightly News

In an exclusive clip obtained by DailyMail.com, McFadden meets a young mother and her four children who are all under the age of eight

The five family members are paid less than $3 each week to work from 5am until 6pm, and each day split a bowl of rice for their one meal

McFadden told DailyMail.com that when she heard this, she 'had to walk away' and compose herself before returning to the shoot

Thangam Ponpandi, who works for a leading Dutch Child rights NGO, Terre Des Hommesthe, informs the veteran news reporter that foreman at these mines employ the children because of their little hands

The mineral that is used to power planes, cars and phones, lends luster to paints and cosmetics and even serves as thermal insulation is being mined by children in Madagascar.

A multi-part NBC News investigation that is set to air on Today during the 7am to 9am hours on Monday takes a closer look at mica, and the young children who spend 13 hours a day in the blistering heat as they bang away at rocks in search of the mineral.

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Cynthia McFadden traveled to Madagascar for this report, and even she had to step away at one point after becoming overcome with tears.

'This story eats at me, makes me angry. We confronted several of the companies in Madagascar who process and ship the mica. They are well aware that children are a vital part of their business model,' McFadden told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.

'They tell us there is nothing they could do. I pray that when people see our story they will demand that companies clean this up.'

Video of McFadden touring one of the sights even captured the moment that Thangam Ponpandi, who works for a leading Dutch Child rights NGO, Terre Des Hommesthe, informs the veteran news reporter that foreman at these mines employ the children because their little hands are better at handling the delicate mineral.

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Worker: NBC News will air an expose on children in Madagascar as young as three (one young girl above) who are working in slave-like conditions to mine the mica that powers phones and cars

Young: Cynthia McFadden traveled to the country for the report, the first part of which will air Monday on Today at 9am followed by part two on NBC Nightly News

Making change: 'I remember thinking to myself, "If you don’t feel anything about what you are seeing you are not doing your job; if you feel too much you can’t do your job,"' McFadden told DailyMail.com

Devastation: The most heartbreaking moment in the preview obtained by DailyMail.com is when McFadden meets a young mother (above with her two sons) who is hard at work mining for mica

Harrowing: In an exclusive clip obtained by DailyMail.com, McFadden (above left) meets a young mother and her four children who are all under the age of five

The most heartbreaking moment in the preview obtained by DailyMail.com is when McFadden meets a young mother who is hard at work mining for mica - alongside her four children, who all appear to be under the age of five.

'We see a mother of four working with her kids sorting mica in well over 100 degrees weather. There is no shade. They had been there five hours already, they will be there six more to go,' says McFadden.

'All of them working. Except the baby who just stares. The five share one cup of rice a day. That is all they can afford on the $3.00 a week they earn.'

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That is when it all became too much to process for McFadden, who noted that she 'had to walk away' and compose herself before returning to the shoot.

'I remember thinking to myself, "If you don’t feel anything about what you are seeing you are not doing your job; if you feel too much you can’t do your job,"' she told DailyMail.com.

She also spoke about the area being remote and poverty stricken, making the situation even more grim for those who are working day and night just to stay alive.

Workers: 'It was a physically arduous trip. The area is remote, rarely seen by outsiders. There are designated “red” or “no-go” zones by some aid groups because of local violence,' explained McFadden

Conditions: The five family members are paid less than $3 each week to work from 5am until 6pm, and each day split a bowl of rice for their one meal

Grim reality: McFadden told DailyMail.com that when she heard this, she 'had to walk away' and compose herself before returning to the shoot

Change: 'We confronted several of the companies in Madagascar who process and ship the mica. They are well aware that children are a vital part of their business model. They tell us there is nothing they could do'

'It was a physically arduous trip. The area is remote, rarely seen by outsiders. There are designated “red” or “no-go” zones by some aid groups because of local violence,' explained McFadden.

'We slept in very primitive shelters with no running water. And an added personal hurdle: I was traveling with a broken ankle, scrambling around mica pits in a cast.'

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She now hopes her new expose, which will role out over the course of this week, finally makes a change.

'This story eats at me, makes me angry,' said McFadden.

'We confronted several of the companies in Madagascar who process and ship the mica. They are well aware that children are a vital part of their business model. They tell us there is nothing they could do.

'I pray that when people see our story they will demand that companies clean this up.'