The Mountain That Eats Men, Cerro Ricco

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From Uyuni we took a fairly tame bus ride to Potosi. We received word from a few that this bus ride was, if possible, worst than the Oruro to Uyuni night bus (see a few entries ago), however the road was paved and the geological features (syclines, antclines, thrust fault features, heavily oxidized soils (red) constrasted against those that were not) were simply fantastic!

Grant was fairly excited to visit Potosi and Cerro Ricco, which makes a back drop to the city, after seeing the film ´The Devils Miner´ at the 2005 VIFF. Potosi has been a city of silver mining for almost 500 years and like most mining towns has gone from boom to bust, and there are hints that it may be heading back towards boom. Sadly, as there is little to no regulation, environmentaly or on construction of the hundred or so operating mines, approximatly 8 million men have died during this time; hence the nickname ´The Mountain that Eats Men.´ The main causes of death are tunnel collapse, being hit or run over by the 1 tonne mining carts, and the inhalation of silica dusts. The last cause is most likely the largest uncounted killer and most miners can expect to live to between 45 an 50 years of age.

We decided to take a tour of the some of the processing plants and a visit into one of the mines on the moutain....

The processing plants operate under the most basic conditions as did the mine. The workers are only paid based on the amount of tonnage they extract from the mine, not hourly. Thus, groups using equipment make more that those groups that work with a hammer and pick. Thus, miners like to work long hours. Average shift is around 10 hours and during this time they do not eat, but to keep up their stamina they chew coca leaves. Yep, the same leaf that produces the white powder cocaine and that is snuffed off the water tanks of toilets in clubs all over the world. Chewing the leaf doesn´t produce the same effects, but does limit the hunger pains. At the processing plant and the mine you see men that seem to be working on a huge jaw breaker that pushs out one of their cheeks. They are in fact just chewing out the good old coca leaf.

The two and half hours that we spent in the mine was more than enough to realize the harsh conditions that these men work under. As the working in the mines are some of the better paying jobs (1,000 Boliviano´s per month compared to the average of 300-400) and the increase in world mineral prices, more and more workers are coming to Potosi to work in the mines, even though they know of the dangers.

Another interesting fact is El Tio. El Tio = The Devil. He is who the miners worship to keep them safe while working in the mines. As many miners are Catholic it provides their life with a dichotomy as they worship Christ outside the mine and El Tio while in the mine. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of El Tio´s within Cerro Ricco and every Friday the workers go to their El Tio to pay him respect. Offerings of cigarettes, booze (97% proof), coca leaves, and payers to keep them and the mine safe over the coming week.

At anyrate, for more insight into mining in Cerro Ricco see ´The Devils Miners´ which follows the two brothers 8 and 13 who must work in the mine after their father dies. Not an uplifting film, but powerfull none the less and even more so after spending a mere 2 hours within the mine.

Because Potosi as had a boom period the city is filled with fantastic colonial architecture, many which have been restored near the city core.

Next stop is the captial of Bolivia, La Paz.

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Photos

Cerro Ricco
It seems that every street in Potosi has a view of Cerro Ricco, The Mountain that Eats Men.

Dusty Conditions
The air is rich with silica dust from recent drilling.

Heavy
His job was to empty the 250kg basket of rock... the baskets came every 45 seconds.

Good from Bad
17 year old breaking and separating silver from waste rock. He´s been working in the mine since he was 14.

1 tonners
Nothing mechanical here. These two push the cart through the tunnels, dumping the material outside.