Since the 16th Century, Bolivianos have been working in the Cerro Rico, ¨The Rich Mountian¨ in Potosi in search of precious metals, such as silver and tin. Today we took a tour of a cooperative mine and climbed through the narrow passageways to see the work of the miners, to understand the hardships of the work and to learn about the history of this city´s desire for economic prosperity. After just spending an hour and a half in the mine, climbing on all fours at around 4200m above sea level, seeing the backbreaking work of the laborers and hearing their stories, there are clear injustices within the mining communities that exist here. It paints a bleak picture of the mining industry around the world and sadly there do not seem to be any real potential solutions in sight. Geologists estimate that the Cerro Rico has about 80-100 years until it is tapped of its resources. Miners continue to probe the mountain with dynamite in search of a profitable rock while they are inhaling toxic fumes, working in extremely hot regions and lacking proper safety equipment and health insurance.
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