The Potosi silver mine in Bolivia was created by the Spaniards with slave labor in 1545. 465 years did not show much improvement in working conditions.
A visit to the mine begins at the local market in the city. Here you can buy goods to help the miners in their work. For 10 Bolivianos (1 pound) you can buy them 2 liters of soda and a large package of coca leaves. If you want, you can also buy them cigarettes (made from marijuana), alcohol (96% proof) or dynamite sticks, fuses or nitrates to make the explosion more powerful.
Mines of Potosi dominate the area. They are located on Cerro Rico (a rich mountain), which rises approximately 600 meters outside the outskirts of the city. Mines have provided wealth and resources to the city for almost 500 years, and the mountain itself is included in religious paintings from colonial times, portrayed as the center of the world.
The mine complex extends up the mountainside: dilapidated corrugated iron shacks, several pick-up trucks and 4WD jeeps, and heaps of cobblestones protrude. These are external signs of work that is going on inside.
Although mines are called cooperatives, in fact it is the only network of tunnels that is owned. Miners and pit workers do not share the profits of the mine. Each miner works for himself, getting a franchise at the mine in any place that, in his opinion, can be profitable. Often the miners work in teams: father and son, brother and brother. 3% of workers are now women.
If there is a profitable seam, the miner may subcontract with others to help extract silver or other minerals for him. All raw materials are then bought on the surface and sold to the waiting trucks from the factory, which then send it to the factory for cleaning.
If nothing is found, the miners will not receive money. In the mines there are several employees who are engaged in basic services for miners. These people are paid 6 Bolivians (60 pounds) per hour for ten hours.
18% tax is deducted from the income of the miners. It is used to pay for the maintenance of the mine and to provide them with some form of pension, medical and social insurance. Men are allowed to retire at the age of 66 because they may leave earlier if they suffer from poor health.
Miners can start work when they choose and work as long as they require each day - although they usually arrive at 8 am and leave at 5 pm. The old woman stands at the entrance to the mine, counting the miners to make sure that there is some record of how many people are inside in the event of an accident.
Although about 8 million slaves (African and Native Indians) died in the mines at the time when they were ruled by the Spaniards, cruelty in the mines today are significantly rare. These are usually cases of carbon monoxide poisoning.
More common are early death and health problems affecting the lungs. Asbestos and other harmful silicates are found naturally in mines, and the atmosphere is also thick with dust from the extraction of minerals.
The entrance to the mine through a simple hole, carved into the side of the mountain. Mines extend to 150 m - a reasonable depth, but not enough to guarantee the use of elevators, so all successes must be made on foot.
A narrow set of rails lay along each aisle for cars that move materials around the mines. A fully loaded wagon weighs 2.5 tons and is discarded by a team of four. Progress downwards is easy, since men often just sit inside and allow the carriage to roll naturally along gentle slopes. Although the moving car is almost impossible to stop, there is almost no space between its edge and the walls of the tunnel.
However, the upward movement is slow, even when the truck is unloaded. At one stage of the visit, several members of the group had to join the men in order to move the car to a particularly steep section of the track.
The passages in the mines themselves are narrow: an inclined low is always required, even in reliably spacious areas. Most of the time had to squat half; and in some sections the only option was to crawl with your hands and knees.
The pipes pass through the aisles, often crossing them from one side to the other, making the ceiling even lower. These pipes were supposed to provide oxygen in the mine network and served three purposes: to provide oxygen in the deepest areas where it almost did not exist, to provide general ventilation in the aisles and to provide oxygen to some machines that operated in mines.
Apparently, one could hear the hiss of oxygen from the pipes when it was released into the tunnels nearby. Even in these areas, the air seemed heavy and thick, as they were far from the entrances to the mines and any source of natural oxygen.
When considering oxygenation in mines, one should not forget that Potosà is the highest city in the world at an altitude of 4,200 meters above sea level, and the mines themselves closer to 4,600 meters only just below the height of Mont Blanc. Even outside, the atmosphere contains only half the oxygen available at sea level.
During a visit to the mines, which were measured around 2 hours, it was possible to meet with several people who worked there and talked with them.
The first was the oldest man in the mine. He was 60 years old and he worked there for the past 30 years. We were told that this was exceptional - most men worked there only in their 20-30 years. When he was asked how long he would continue to work in the mine, he replied that he would remain until he was 70 years old, if he was not expelled earlier due to poor health.
Currently, he was resting, because he was waiting for people to return with loaded wagons so that they could be drained into a large pool to bring the rocks to the surface.
Another person worked in a small cell, choosing a small niche for his dynamite stick. It was hot in this lower part of the mine, and he was sweating when he repeatedly struck a chisel into the rock above his head. It was almost impossible to reach him, because he was hidden behind a large pile of rubble and a wooden wheelbarrow, on the opposite side of a gaping 1 meter square hole in the ground.
Dynamic sticks are small and only blow off a small area of rock. Fuses are installed for about 3-4 minutes. In open space, it gives sufficient time to get a remote distance from the explosion; but in the narrow borders of the mines at this time it is impossible to move long distances. In the walls one could see many marks where previous explosions were made.
A few minutes later the man came out and said that he had finished the day. He arrived at the mine at 4 am and worked for about 8 hours. Dynamite will be installed the next day.
He was in the mid-fifties; but did not think that it would work much longer because of health problems in the lungs. We gave him some juice and coca leaves, which he was very pleased with. A couple of people also bought cigarettes on the market, and he happily accepted a package of these products.
The third man sat in what passed, like the rest of the mine. When I asked him what he was mining for, he replied that, looking at silver, he was hooked on topaz, as it was a very valuable mineral.
Men live almost nothing but coca leaves, and constantly chew on them from a large bag. They expect to receive 3 bags per day. Coca increases fatigue, suppresses appetite and provides energy.
Coca sees that also serves as a cure for all diseases. We were told that, despite the amount of dust and asbestos in the air, the miners do not need masks, as coca leaves served as a filter. One group injured her nose when knocking on low ceilings and a coca leaf was immediately put on the affected place to numb the pain and stop the swelling.
Coming out of the mines, we also walked past the statue of Theo - a larger wooden representation of the devil than a way of life, which served as a symbol of luck for the miners.
They took the figure of the devil during the Spanish occupation. The Spaniards told them that Jesus and God ruled the world of light on the surface of the earth, but that the underworld and everything under the surface was the kingdom of the devil. Since they were working underground, it was wrong that they should look at God, but take their place among the devil's disciples.
Every day, the miners put a lit cigarette and a coca leaf in the mouth of this devil as an offering for good luck. On Fridays, they also give him alcohol: a drop in his mouth for thirst, a fall at every corner of his body on four points of the compass and a drop on his penis for fertility. It is important to use the purest form of alcohol, as this will ensure the detection of only the purest minerals and gems.
