Potosi and the mine (NS)

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The bus to Potosi from Uyuni was a nightmare. No toilets and I had stocked up on water expecting them - I was very grateful for the first stop after 3.5 hours. The driver was driving like a madman, swerving around llamas which were in the road - llamas are all over the Andes - farmed like cattle in the UK but without the boundries of fields. We had bought a newspaper the previous day and there was a story about a drunken bus driver who had crashed his bus killing 6 of the passengers and injuring many more. Apparently this is not uncommon in Bolivia. This story fresh in our minds and the steep mountain roads did not calm our nerves.

We safely arrived at Potosi at 4pm and kissed Pachamama. Pachamama is mother earth to the pre-columbians and is still worshipped by many. It is traditional to pour the first part of an alcoholic drink on the ground to toast Pachamama before consuming the rest. We have since learned the value of this toast.

Potosi is a mining town in the highlands of Bolivia (4200m). It is at the base of Cerro Rico which is mined for its minerals. The town was once very rich, silver used to be the main mineral mined from the Cerro Rico by the Spanish. When the Spanish mined the mountain 80% of what came out was silver (giving rise to the quote about the silver bridge). Now 80% of what comes out is ka-ka (a local term which does not need translating) and 20% is divided between iron, copper, silver and some others. The town is very dirty and lacking in hygiene, no public toilets have water let alone soap. (Tas got the squirts which we put down to the poor standards of hygiene throughout).

Me and Tas took a tour of the mine which started in the miners market. At the market we were encouraged to buy gifts for the miners including dynamite, fuses, drinks and coca. Each family operates as a co-operative mining a particular seam. They buy their own materials and share the profit which equates to about 8 Bolivianios/US$1 per day per person so these gifts are important.

Coca is just as important as dynamite in the mines. In this area it is important socially and in the working environment. It is not processed it is just in leaf form which is shoved into the side of the mouth to soften then sucked. The effects of are quite mild - a numbing of the mouth, small increase in energy and a touch of lightheadedness resulting in a feeling of removal from the environment. This was just what is needed as the conditions the miners work in is appalling.

The next part of the tour was the process for seperating the minerals. The mined rock is crushed into small pieces then washed in various chemicals so all the minerals form a scum on top of the liquid. The scum is then scraped off and dried. All the minerals are still mixed in this dry scum which is exported to the US, Europe and China where the minerals are seperated. This seperation cannot be done locally as the equipment is too expensive.

There are 250 mines in Cerro Rico all with many seams providing work for a total of 12 000 miners. We enterred one of the oldest and safest mines. The first 200m of the tunnel was about 1.5 m high, big enough so the lads could push the trolleys carrying the mined rock to the surface. We went into a little annexed cave which has a brief history of the mine and of mining in the area, we stayed there for about 10 minutes. We then progressed for another few hundred metres and the tunnel got progressively smaller, I was feeling a little uncomfortable. Luckily we came to a open area which was the entrance to a seam. I sat for a bit and got my breath back while the others talked to a miner going about his work - he was given one of the gifts we bought at the market. By now the place was hot (about 40degrees c) and very dusty we were both finding it difficult to breathe and the thick dust could quite clearly be seen in the light in our head torches. We pressed on again, this time we were going down, there was no need for the down tunnels to have any height as they were not used for transporting any mined product, just people. I was very uncomfortable but still pressed on surpressing my fears until we came to an opening about 1Km in. The opening was about 4m x 4m x 1.5m high where we stopped for another rest. It was time to move again - I looked at the tunnel we would be going through next and froze. It was about 3/4 m in diameter. Coming from South Shields which is a mining and ship-building town I should be embarassed but I remember my Granda saying to me when I was younger ´Son! Whatever you do, don´t go down the hole, its a horrible dirty place´ and he was right. I told our guide I was going no further and made my way back to the surface. I was nearly sick when I reached daylight. Tas carried on deeper into the mine with the guide so she will finished off the rest of the mine story.

TS:
As soon as we started the mine tour, I realised our mistake. I knew that Noel wa uncomfortable with small enclosed spaces - so why were we on this tour? I was really uncomfortable myself and felt like I had an inch thick layer of dust on my tongue.

My biggest worry was that Noel was going to have a panic attack (not that he´s the type) so to be honest I was totally relieved when he went back. I maintain that it is a good thing he did as the conditions got worse as we got deeper and we stayed in the mine for another 2 hours.

Other than the fact that it was really hard to breathe I wasn´t intially worried at all, but after Noel had gone I started thinking about the possibilities of an earthquake. My biggest worry was that if there was an earthquake and the mine caved in and I died - that Noel would try to come and rescue me and get hurt himself. I wished I had thought of this before he had left so I could tell him to stay away whatever.

On the second level we came across a boy of 17 who had been working in the mine since he was 13. His job for the day (the day being as long as the group decided it would be - he said they would make a call after 10 hours whether to carry on and do 18 or even 24 hours) was to bang a hole in the rock to put dynamite into. To do this he had a metal rod and a rock. He had been banging this particular hole for 4 hours and it was not big enough yet. He said it could take up to 10 hours. The boy was dripping with sweat. It is hard to talk about my feelings about this because to him it is normal but it makes me feel so angry and helpless. I also felt so vouyeristic and wrong for being there.

On the next level we got to a section where three guys pushed 2 tonne trolleys filled with rock to the end of the cave where they used all their weight and strength to tip it over. Next 2 men shovelled it into rubber bags and used a pulley system to take it to the top. The guide asked us to help shovel it into the bags. I could hardly breathe as it was without exherting myself! I gave it a go but found it realy hard - it was so hot and the air was so thin and full of grit and dust. The men wrung their clothes out every now and then, they were soaked with sweat. All through the tour I was willing it to end. I couldnt breathe, my eyes hurt and I was worrying about Noel - was he out OK? Eventually we started to retrace our steps and head back out. (I think) I am glad I understand what the miners go through - but I am not sure what good it does anyone......

NS:
All the time Tas was down the mine I was fearful for her, not in a ´there might be an accident´way more just anxious. I was so releived to see her little red face appear from the hole, coughing spluttering and wiping mud and dust from her eyes.

We had bought some dynamite and a fuse from the miners market so now it was time to blow things up. We lit the fuse and took it in turns to get our photo taken with dynamite in our hands while the fuse burned away. (See I am not a softy).

From what I saw (and heard) I can only conclude that mining tecniques have not moved on here in 100 years. I also believe that if the mine was that profitable it would be owned by a US or European company and the process would be automated and mechanical. This is not to say the mine should not be there, it is the hub for a town of 1200 people and to close it would mean devastation to the area. It should be noted however, that the US has spent $1.25 billion in the last 25 years in Bolivia trying (unsucessfully) to eradicate coca farming. If they had spent 10% of this promoting an alternative industry and on a decent infrastructure in the area things would be significantly different. Even better the united countries of south america could get together and exploit their own resources.

We left Potosi that night feeling dirty and confused (Tas still had the squirts). I liked Potosi as it was an industrial town with great heritage and lots of stories to tell. I am however shocked at the conditions in which the people live, especially as it was once very rich.

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Photos

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Us in the entrance to the mine

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Miners Market

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Wheeling out a 1 tonne trolley

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Noel with dynamite!

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Woman selling herbs & coca in the street

Comments

[georgia]

you truly are blasting off in bolivia.....