Potosi and the Silver Mines

Outside the mine

Silver was discovered in Potosi in 1545, unfortunately the spanish found out and spent 2.5 centuries forcing the indigenous peoples to mine it, and using the wealth to support the Spanish empire. The mines are still used mainly by private cooperatives. Most of the silver has been mined - now its mainly Tin and Lead.

I was interested in visiting the mines, so i booked a trip. I managed to find an agency that had just opened, and so had no other customers so i had a 1-1 trip with an ex miner which was really facinating, but not sure if i would describe it as enjoyable!

On the way into the mine

First we visited a miners store where its traditional to buy gifts for the miners - I could have bought 96% alcohol and dynamite, but after tasting the alcohol there and nearly throwing up and taking the moral high ground i bought coca leaves and soda instead (to dilute the alcohol they have already - they drink it at 40-50%! lightweights)
We drove to the mine at Cerro Rico (rich hill) just outside Potosi, and walked for 1.5km into the mountain. It was damp, cramped and got increasingly hot the further in we went. On the way we passed miners working in various jobs - shovelling rocks into carriages and pushing the loaded carriages to the surface.


My first and last mining shift

 The mine front was seriously unpleasant. A group of 6-7 miners spend up to 12 hours per day blasting rocks with sticks of dynamite, breathing in poisonous gas and vapourised metals in unbearable heat.
They all chew huge quantities of coca leaves, drink diluted pure alcohol and work in medieval conditions. It really is amazing that anybody works like that, and it puts anybody elses complaints about work into perspective.
Most miners start when they are 13-14, and have a life expectancy of 40. I came away really admiring them, they had a dark sense of humour and real comradeship.

We left the mine as they finished a shift, as we got to the light they started shouting and running towards it and i very nearly joined them!

Cerro Rico

After the mine i was exhausted, but we went to a processing plant nearby. It was basicaly a huge plant for breaking down the rocks, mixing them with chemicals (i got to walk around huge vats of hot cyanide and giant crushing machinary! only in bolivia) and drying the resulting purer mix ready for shipment to Europe.

Yesterday i arrived in Sucre, only 3 hours from Potosi, another beautiful colonial town. Today i went to book a ticket to Santa Cruz for tomorrow, 15 hours bus ride away to the east. The ticket was 10GBP but i could fly for 30GBP, so i told the agent i would fly and went to get some cash.

Potosi plaza

When i returned they said the flight was full, but the agent said she has contacts at the airport so thinks she can get me on a Bolivian military flight instead so we are going to turn up at the airport tomorrow morning anyway! Brilliant.