Potosi and Silver Mines

Trip Start Jun 03, 2008
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Trip End Aug 11, 2008


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Flag of Bolivia  ,
Wednesday, July 16, 2008

After a six hour bus journey from Uyuni we arrived in Potosi. Potosi is famous for its silver mines which were discovered in 1545 and soon became the biggest silver mines the world has ever seen. Potosi, which is the highest city in the world, became the richest and biggest city in the Spanish Empire. The Spanish used local Indians and later African slaves to work in the mines. The miners worked in appalling conditions and it is estimated that up to 9 million people have died in the mines. Today the mines are still in operation  and the conditions of the workers have improved little. The life expectancy of a worker is 45 years and boys as young as 13 are still working in the mines.

We began our tour at 9am by getting our safety helmet, torch and mining suit. We then went to the miners market where we bought presents for the miners, including coca leaves, a 96% alcoholic drink, food and dynamite Children living near the mines
Children living near the mines
 . The dynamite was widely available to buy in the market and only cost 10 bolivianos(approx 1 euro!!).

Upon arrival in the mines we were told the history of the mines by our tour guide johnny. We then got a demonstration on how to prepare the dynamite and set it alight. I had bought dynamite for myself and got to go up the mountain and light it. It had a 45 sec. delay so had plenty of time to get back down the mountain before it exploded, still moved pretty quick though!!

After this we did an hour an a half tour of the mines. This involved going several levels underground in very tight spaces and we had to crawl through tunnels and go up ladders. We met some of the miners and saw the conditions in which they work which are truely inhuman. They still use very primative methods and we could hear explosions going off in different parts of the mine which wasn`t very reassuring!! The dust in the mines was pretty bad and none of the miners wore any form of mouth protection resulting in many lung diseases. We also got to see the God he miners worship which looks like the devil. Every Friday the miners would offer gifts to this God in hope of finding more minerals in the mine.

Overall the experience was a real eye opener to see that people still have to work in these horrible conditions and the poverty that they experience. After the short period of time in the mines we were very happy to see daylight again and yet these miners work 12 hour days in the mines 5 days a week. It definately makes you appreciate what you have..
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