Potosi, Bolivia - January 2006 (by Ray)
For this entry we go deep underground into the Potosi mines. So we hope you are feeling fit, have acclimatised adequately and don´t suffer from claustrophobia or asthma. It´s dusty and as hot as a sauna down there, so you should pour yourself a long, cool drink!
The city of Potosi is located about 400km south of La Paz, the political capital of Bolivia, and sits at an altitude of almost 4,000 metres above sea level. It has a population of around 115,000 and actually lays claim to being the highest city in the world for its size!
Potosi was inhabited for several centuries by the Incas who mined the precious metals (primarily silver ore) contained within the mountain that dominates the city, the Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain). The mining was carried out in a "low impact" manner since the Incas worshipped the mountain, believing it was a gift from Pachamama (Mother Earth).
Only after the arrival of the Spanish in Potosi in 1545, and their "discovery" of the riches, did the serious mining begin which inevitably changed the city forever. Many thousands of the indigenous population were forced into working the mines and vast amounts of silver were extracted.
The proceeds benefited the city in terms of the opulence of its 86 newly-built churches and the luxuries provided to the upper class colonialists. By the middle of the 17th century, a mint was established to coin the silver, the coins becoming the standard for money around the world, i.e. the Real. In addition, water reservoirs were established to fulfill the growing needs of the population. This inaccessible Bolivian village in the dry, infertile mountains close to the desert became the centre of the world and with 200,000 inhabitants, bigger than London or Paris at that time.
70,000 tons of silver continued to flow from the mountain over a period of 300 years to Spain, and from there into the coffers of distinguished European families. This was in contrast to the pay and conditions for the miners. Working conditions were devastating, the life expectancy of a miner after starting work amounted to just six months. After that he usually remained within the mountain, since the transportation of the many corpses proved to be too laborious in the long run. Estimates are sketchy, but all agree that no less than one million workers were devoured by the mountain during the peak of the mining activity.
However the speed of the mineral extraction inevitably led to the near exhaustion of the metal ores. By the middle of the 19th century, and after many of the South American countries had achieved independence, the Spanish moved elsewhere to continue their search for wealth, e.g. Mexico.
The majority of the speculators also moved away with the Spanish, leaving a much decreased population of 10,000 inhabitants. By the early 20th century Potosi was in a desperate state. It was only by the determination of some of the existing miners to continue with the extraction of other minerals (ignored as worthless by the Spanish) e.g. tin, zinc and lead, that saved the city and its inhabitants from absolute poverty. However due to decreases in the market value for tin and lead during the 20th century, the city has never fully recovered, despite all attempts to revive the local economy.
Today, mining continues in Cerro Rico. However the mountain has been so heavily exploited that the present-day miners are only able to extract meagre pickings compared to the scale of the extractions during Spanish rule. It is estimated that the mountain is now perforated by over 5,000 tunnels and this number is still increasing. The mountain continues to claim lives, but the fever for wealth continues.
There is no large-scale investment in the area from major mining companies, therefore the miners have formed themselves into cooperatives that share the spoils of the mountain. A living can be made from mining today, but the cooperatives came up with a unique idea to supplement their modest income: THE MINE TOUR.
This is no tour through a modern high-tech mine though: this is a tour through a mine of medieval standards. No safety systems are available for rapid evacuation and the only protective equipment provided to miners takes the form of a lamp and a hard hat, i.e. the same equipment provided to visitors (although visitors are given the luxury of overalls - the softies!!)
We therefore took up the challenge laid down by the description of the Mine Tour. The summary of the blurb on the tour leaflet was "not for wooses"!! Off we went then, up to the tired looking mountain in a wee minibus. Along the road we stopped at the "Miners´ Market" and were invited to take the miners a wee present to assist them in their daily toil. We were offered the choice of a)fizzy drinks; b)water; c)coca leaves; d)cigarettes; e)stick of dynamite, bag of ammonium nitrate and length of fuse wire.
For Gill it was the bottle of fizzy drink. For Ray? Of course, no competition. For 17 Bolivianos, slightly more than one of your Great British Pounds, I bought the full dynamite package. Gill was not very amused with this little power package, but then blokes will be blokes. Where else in the world,(apart from Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.), could you buy a stick of dynamite with all the gubbings and walk casually away from the shop without being arrested on terrorist charges? Actually, having bought the dynamite, as the day progressed, it was apparent that I could still be walking about with that stick of dynamite in my rucksack today.
Prior to going down one of the mine tunnels, Pedro, our guide and a former miner (he´s one of the luckier ones), actually gave a demonstration of how to set off the dynamite charge. About 2 minutes prior to the explosion, he actually had the package held between his teeth, as the lit fuse wire got shorter and shorter. We decided we were in safe hands........
To the mines! Dark, chokingly dusty, hard to breathe, crawling on stomachs through tiny tunnels, climbing up and down chasms, trying not to panic due to the diminishing supply of oxygen. These were only some of the experiences once down the hell-hole of the Candelaria mine. It got worse the deeper we descended. At level 2, we were introduced to the "Governor" of the mines, "Tio", otherwise known as the Devil. This miners worship this ghoulish character. He decides their fate, so he needs to be kept happy through gifts of cigarettes, alcohol (at 96%), or coca leaves. Although above ground the miners follow the Roman Catholic faith, below ground the only prayers are offered to Tio. These prayers take the form of curses, so it´s "bloody Tio" this and "bloody Tio" that. It´s fair to say that there are no miners "Whistling while they work" down here.
At level 3 (about 70 metres) we are literally struggling. Because of the extreme heat, Gill can`t see through her specs. None of us has a dust mask, so we are choking and struggling to breathe. Ray´s hard hat keeps falling off! Our muscles are aching from the constant crawling. Then the cavern opens up and we take a rest as we watch 3 miners shovelling ore into baskets. Then after a few minutes Pedro asks for shovelling "volunteers" to give the miners a break. So we all take turns. After a few minutes of shovelling we are exhausted and struggling to breathe. Actually, it´s meant to be a novelty, but it´s not funny.
We`re glad to get on the move again, despite the discomfort, and go to see some drilling. But once the drill starts you are blind to the dust, choking and deafened by the noise. Of course, the miners have no eye goggles, dust masks or ear defenders. After this, some of our team (6 of us), start to moan about the conditions and are keen to get back up to ground level. This takes another 30 minutes as we climb almost vertically back to level 1. Slowly but surely we can feel the air starting to circulate. We need to stop frequently to allow miners pushing ore-flled trollies pass, but we´re almost there.
Once out of the mines, it´s curious to look at the faces of our team almost 2 hours after the "tour" began. Gill looks lost and Ray looks as if he´s forgotten who he is. Check out the photos and you'll see what I mean....
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