We had another amazingly comfortable bus ride to Potosi with seats made for children, freezing cold temperatures, the bus driver pumping his discotheque music and the guy next to us competing by blaring Eminem from a speaker instead of headphones. Cerro Rico, the rich mountain, stands tall above the dusty cold city. Potosi at 4090 meters is the highest city in the world and has been developed at the base of Cerro Rico, the mountain that has provided the city with riches for the last 500 years. Although there is little pure silver found there today it is still the mainstay for the people and economy of Potosi and 10,000 men risk their lives every day going to work in one of the 180 mines. I was still a bit unsure if I was going to join Jake on one of the tours into the mine. The thought of dark tunnels deep underground, cramped, confined spaces, fierce heats, the potential of rocks caving in and breathing in dust and toxic fumes was just not appealing to me.
In the end I found a company on tripadvisor called Big Deal which had really good reviews. I went along with Jake to check it out and translate for him if needed. Walking into the office I was immediately taken back by Efra’s presence. He was bright, welcoming and super enthusiastic. After chatting to him for a while (he spoke excellent English) I was coming around to the idea of joining the tour. Big Deal is made up of 6 ex-miners who used to work as guides for other companies (which the books like lonely planet recommend purely because of these guides). Big Deal has now been running for about three years and the guys were helped in setting up their own business by an American couple volunteering in Potosi. The guides are definitely what make this business so great. I had told Efra that we had watched the movie ‘The Devils Miner’ before coming to Potosi and that I was a bit freaked out by it. He was able to put me at ease from my thoughts of poisonous gases but was also honest with how much crawling through tight spaces would be required. If at any time anyone was uncomfortable a guide or helper was available to escort them out. At first he was a bit hesitant when asked about the movie but he answered all my questions and then gave his account of the movie. According to him the movie is not accurate. Apparently the boys did not really work in the mines and the owner of one of the big travel agencies in Bolivia played the boss of the boys mine and now continues to exploit the boys and the movie by selling their faces on pamphlets etc. Money that would be sent to the boy’s family was never received. He said the short life expectancy of miners was also exaggerated (30-40 years) and we would meet guys in the mines that had been working 35+ years. Although I was a bit unsure whether to believe his account of the story I was a lot less nervous about entering the mines and so Jake and I both booked in for the next morning.
Dynamite time! First stop on the tour was the miners market where we were able to buy gifts for the miners. Cocoa and drinks are appreciated as whilst at work the miners do not eat instead chewing on cocoa to suppress their appetite and provide them with energy to sustain a long day at work. Cold drinks are also best as miners work in some hot conditions and the work itself is very demanding. Although alcohol and cigarettes are also available, Efra advised against buying these as they are obviously not healthy for anyone and do not make good gifts for miners. He gave a quick show and tell of some of the other products including the dynamite which was available to buy as a gift. Jake was pretty keen on some of this to try for himself but in the end he didn’t buy any due to having nowhere to go blow it up.
View from the top of the mine As always with all the tours we have participated in we were provided with some protective gear. Our gears consisted of, a decent helmet and headlamp, gumboots, a bag and a light outer layer they claimed was waterproof but I doubted it would keep anything dry. It might protect our clothes from a little dust but not much else. You could also buy masks but most people were prepared with scarfs and Jake and I had our buffers from our bike ride down Death road. Walking up to the bus I felt a bit like a miner and had a few butterflies. I am not claustrophobic but I also do not like the idea of being stuck in a cave underground where I don’t know my way out.
Before entering the mine site we visited where the minerals are processed. When the Spaniards were mining the mountain it was full of riches and pure silver. Potosi was one of the richest cities in the world and very important to Spain. However all of the silver was shipped overseas and this continues today. The last big pure silver find was in the 90’s (the family ended up buying the first hummer in Potosi) and most of the stuff that is mined now is not good quality. The rocks that come out of the mine today are 80-90% waste and the minerals inside need to be processed. This involves crushing the rock and using chemicals to dissolve the rocks down further (which also mean the streams and rivers around Potosi have hundreds of years or chemical waste polluting them). Then a process called floatation is used with water separating the minerals from the leftover solids. The remaining minerals are a mix of zinc, lead and silver. However Potosi and Bolivia do not have the technology to completely refine and separate the minerals. Bolivia has to export the minerals to other countries such as Chile, China and the USA who have the technology to separate the minerals and sell it at a much higher price as jewellery, in cameras or even in our batteries.
Halfway up the mountain we passed several miners chewing massive wads of cocoa and none of them looked older than twenty. Our own guide Efra had started in the mines himself at 13 so it’s not unusual to see kids working in the mines with their fathers and brothers but coming from a country where this would be illegal to send a kid it is still unsettling to see. As it was winter school holidays Efra said there would be more kids in the mines helping out their families but he also went onto say that the culture and mind frame of the miners is changing. Although miners are proud to be miners they are realising the importance of education and are wanting more for their children. This is hard in a country where the education system is not the best and where it is common place for kids to work selling drinks and food on the street or shining shoes to earn extra for their families. Efra remains positive that although he dislikes the corruption in his country that there is hope for the future and for the children.
Miners do however earn good money around 3000-5000 bs a month but this is entirely dependent on how much they find. It is not much in our terms about $240-$420 but this is a lot better than other jobs. The average wage in Bolivia is around 2000bs a month with professions such as teachers earning a bit more around 2500bs. This is why mining is so important to Potosi still and people including children continue to work in some pretty scary conditions.
Entrance to the mine Entering into the mine called Rosario we immediately had to crouch a little and the tunnel seemed to narrow and shorten as we walked further. This is one of the times I was glad to be short and felt sorry for Jake and the other couple of tall guys that were on the tour. The air wasn’t smelly nor was it too dusty so I could handle it for the first hour or so. I started to feel a bit more at ease as we passed several different mining groups where we would have a chat, share some cocoa and drinks and Efra would tell us some interesting facts about the mine. I had been in two minds about watching the miners as well as I felt it was kind of exploitative. However upon meeting some of them they were all very welcoming to the tourists and happy to take a break and talk to us, explain about their work and even let some of the guys have a go at making the holes in the rock to put dynamite in. The guys didn’t last long and Efra explained that it can take 2 hours to make a hole about 20-30cm long to insert the dynamite.
Rosario mine is one of the biggest mines in the mountain with some 200 people working inside however not all as one. During the years of the Spaniards, native Indians were forced to work in harsh conditions and slaves from Africa were shipped over to help in the mines. Some 8 million people are said to have died in the mountains during this time. The next era of ownership was no better for the indigenous working under private companies for little pay and under terrible conditions. After a social revolution the mine was taken over by the government which resulted in inefficiencies as now the indigenous were paid a salary and with little incentive to find anything, few minerals were being found. Now the mines are owned and worked by mining cooperatives. The mining cooperatives are each made up of a small number of men, normally family and friends who work together. What they find is theirs to keep and share within the group. They decide the hours and conditions and they are paid based on the quantity and quality of minerals they find. There are some unwritten rules between the cooperatives as well. For example groups of miners work within the space where their family has worked previously and this is respected by all other groups.
All up we walked 2km from one side of the mountain to the other and passed through two current mines, Rosario and Santa Elaina as well as one of the old government mines. There were times when we visited working mines where the spaces were a bit tighter and cramped and I could feel the dust irritating my eyes and throats. There were also times when we walked through grand halls and tunnels with plenty of oxygen and space. We were all out of breath as we climbed down and up the precarious looking ladders owing to the altitude but never felt unsafe and had plenty of rest time after each climb to catch our breaths back. Some of the guys were sweating profusely probably as they really had to bend down in parts for some time whilst us girls just needed to bend our heads. The mines are definitely made for Bolivian bodies.
During the tour we encountered two Tio’s or devils. To the miners Pachamama is who looks after the outside world and so therefore underground must be the devils realm. Because of this miners worship both Pachamama and the devil or Tio. Each mine has a specially built Tio (which actually means uncle in Spanish). As the mountain is Tio’s the miners come to their Tio bringing offerings of cocoa, cigarettes and 96% pure alcohol. We all participated in a Ch’alla or toast to Tio in order to bring safe passage to us through the mountain. This involved scattering a few cocoa leave over Tio and pouring a bit of alcohol to Pachamama on the ground and onto Tio before taking a sip of the potent alcohol ourselves. Miners ask for no blood to be spilt and also ask for Tio, who owns the silver, to provide pure minerals. In another ceremony, held in June every year, a Llama is killed and the blood splattered over the mine as an offering to Tio so no miners blood is spilt that year.
Cerro Rico from our Hostel Although 8 of us went in and 8 came back out of the mines every year between 4-8 miners die in the mountain with many more dying outside of the mountain due to the long term health effects of breathing in too much dust and fumes. This is a lot less then I had thought it would be but was still disheartening especially knowing that although people have the choice to work in the mines it is preferred purely because its pays more so one can support their family. It is hard to contemplate knowing that this number would never be accepted in any of the big mines back in Australia or in NZ with strict health and safety rules in place to ensure this doesn’t happen. With little to no regulation in Bolivia it is sad thinking that included in this number are not only young men but boys who should be at school or hanging out being a kid. Big Deal, are currently looking at expanding and putting together a program to help mining kids learn English and Spanish (Miners speak Quechan) and other skills to either become tour guides or towards another profession. However, until there are other career options which pay as well in Potosi, mining will remain as one of the top choices for boys.
I was hesitant about entering the mines but after our day with Big Deal Tours inside the mountain I think it is an experience not to be missed. It is both shocking, informative, eye-opening, educational, safe and at times (with Efra) amusing.
I was hesitant about entering the mines but after our day with Big Deal Tours inside the mountain I think it is an experience not to be missed. It is both shocking, informative, eye-opening, educational, safe and at times (with Efra) amusing.
Next stop Photo magic at Salar de Uyuni