This mountain in Bolivia once contained the most silver in the world. In the last 500 years, however, miners have brought almost the whole. In the 16th century, the native inhabitants were forced to work by Spanish colonizers. Generations have passed, and this is the only job they know.
– I'm not afraid anymore. I started working here at a very young age – says Luciano Isla Villac, Górnik.
Currently, men mainly extract zinc, tin and lead. Continuous mining, however, meant that the 4.5 km high mountain became porous and unstable.
“Look at the mountains aerial photos, and you will see something that looks like giant holes in the top of the mountain that arose as a result of sinkholes,” notes Andrea Marson, assistant professor at the Faculty of Geography at Rutgers University. “
The expired volcano is infamously known as “A mountain that eats people.”
This work is exhausting and unbearable, but we have to endure
– says Luciano.
So why do so many people risk living inside the mountain that can collapse? And why has it changed so little for them since the colonial times?
Mount Cerro Rico was once a source of wealth for residents
Located at an altitude of 3967 m above sea level, Potosí is one of the highest cities in the world. Cerro Rico, or “rich mountain,” towers over it. In the 16th century, it made Potosí the richest place in Latin America. Today he is one of the poorest.
Luciano lives with his wife in a one -room house at the foot of the mountain. There is no heating, only electricity and cooking stove. Luciano is partly retired. To make ends meet, he still extracts once or twice a week.
About 40 percent Potosí residents work in mining professions. Almost half of the population lives in extreme poverty. This is more than three times more than the national average. After 10 minutes of driving, the bus tosses Luciano into the mine.
Luciano supplies alcohol and buys coca leaves that give it energy. Then he buys dynamite sticks, which he will later use. There are almost 500 mines here, but many of them are abandoned. After entering the mine, Luciano first makes the victim of El Tío, i.e. the uncle. Some historians believe that The Spaniards put the statues of the devil to scare the workers and instill discipline.
We have been working here for years and you will protect us. Don't let me suffer. Make it to always be a time
– Asks Luciano.
Every day, going to work, they risk life
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The role of the Spaniards in the forced labor of native inhabitants in mines
Legend has it that in 1544 a native farmer Diego Huallpa discovered silver here, looking for missing lama. However, it was the Spaniards who brought out most of this silver when they conquered Potosí in the 16th century.
European engravings show how They forced over 13,000 native inhabitants and enslaved Africans to work in mines. Over the next 200 years, over 40,000 were sent to Europe. tons of silver. In the entire Spanish Empire, silver bars and coins were used as a currency. Army and churches were financed with their help.
Hundreds of years later, the State Mining Corporation Bolivia Comibol took over Cerro Rico. AND When the price of silver dropped drastically in the 1980s, Comibol donated the mountain to the native inhabitants of the region.
Currently, around 16,000 work here. miners. They are descendants of the same indigenous communities that worked here centuries ago. The top is connected by 60 tunnels with a total length of 105 km. These rails were installed between the 16th and 19th centuries. To extract Ruda miners still use simple tools such as a chisel and a hammer.
– Some work with gloves, but I rarely use them. Maybe it's because I have strong hands – admits Luciano.
Today, Luciano is pushing the vein of tin, which has a black color.
– It worked. This piece will also be suitable – the miner enjoys.
But to find larger pieces, Luciano must go deeper into the unexplored corners of the mountain. I need dynamite for this.
– I couldn't get minerals without it. I will put dynamite in the hole. I have to stick it deep enough for the explosion to smash the rock – explains Luciano.
Luciano must work quickly because it competes with other miners.
When other miners hear the noise, they will quickly run to extract from the other side. They will fight to take over what is mine
– says.
The expired volcano is infamously known as “a mountain that eats people”
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Working in mines is associated with long -term effects
After firing up the dynamite, Luciano moves away to over 60 m. Employees collect crushed rocks to bags that can weigh up to 40 kg. The elevator transports minerals to the place where mining prams are located. The mortality rate in such small mines is 90 percent. higher than in industrialized countries.
We are strong and we do not feel pain. The scratches do not matter. We keep working
Many miners may suffer from silicon, deadly lung disease caused by continuous exposure to dust. This usually happens after 10 years of work in the mine. Luciano was hospitalized for this reason for over a year.
I still feel the effects to this day. I am not in such good shape as before getting sick. I don't work so well anymore. Even my eyes worsened
– Luciano mentions the negative effects of her work.
Luciano is 52 years old, but most employees do not live 40 years old. Fortunately, he has health insurance because it belongs to one of many cooperatives that control mines. Each cooperative has from 50 to 1000 members and all are native residents.
Miners pay mainly monthly contributions and a one -off membership fee, which can cost up to $ 1,000. Members can also employ contractors to work on their behalf.
– Sometimes they are other members of the mining cooperative, but sometimes they are workers working for a day. The whole group works together, for example on one zinc or compleed vein, i.e. a mixed ore vein – says Andrea.
The biggest advantage of the cooperative is that miners can stop everything they find. They can earn a lot of money, sufficient to support themselves or send children to school.
– Their children will inherit membership in the cooperative, but instead of going underground and extract, they will only rent workers to work on their behalf – says Andrea.
Workers working for a daytime are not part of the cooperative and do not receive any benefits. They only receive a daily salary of only $ 10.
On a good day, Luciano can earn around $ 70., extracting lead, zinc or tin. Currently, it rarely comes across silver. Most silver deposits were exploited to 1825, but sometimes he manages to find his marks in the rocks.
“There is a bit of silver here, and the rest is tin,” he says.
Difficult working conditions mean that miners do not live to the old age
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Mount Cerro Rico is like a Swiss cheese
All minerals are dropped to the pits on the slope of the mountain. They are sorted and then sold to intermediaries who buy for foreign companies. Trucks transport them from Bolivia, which has no access to the sea, to ports in the neighboring Chile. Then unrefined minerals are sent abroad.
In 2021, Bolivia sold zinc worth almost $ 1.3 billion. It is used in the production of cars, batteries, and even paint and rubber. Most go to South Korea, where they are processed in factories.
– In addition to rafifying zinc, the Koreans are also able to extract Ind, which is a mineral needed for touch screens and advanced technologies, which are much more lucrative than unrefined zinc exported by Bolivians. Bolivians do not receive any money for Inda, which they export. It is often treated as a defect – admits Andrea.
Thanks to the export of minerals, Bolivia is doing financially, but the decades of excavations destabilized Cerro Rico. Currently, Górka is slowly “sinking” due to mining at the very top.
Extracting at the top of the mountain is extremely dangerous, because sinkholes are increasingly created. However, this is also one of the places where the most minerals remain. Therefore, many people are ready to take a very high risk
In 2014, a presidential decree was issued to suspend excavations above 4.3 km, but several cooperatives did not sign an agreement. Some experts say that Cerro Rico is now like a Swiss cheese with many holes.
16 thousand The local miners are descendants of the same indigenous communities that worked here centuries ago
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– Miners belonging to the cooperative do not coordinate among themselves where they extract or behind which they follow, which can lead to many problems in the structure of the mountain, when two miners work close together. They can both follow different veins, but they do not leave enough rocks to make the tunnel survive for the next miners – says the expert.
The Comibol State Mining Corporation is responsible for maintaining the safety of the mountain structure, despite the fact that it is not the owner of the mine.
– For Bolivians it is a monument that has been in the state coat of arms for years
– says Gregorio Socaño, Wcomibol technician.
Gregorio Socaño works as a technician at Comibol. Today, it supervises the project financed by the Bolivian government, aimed at strengthening some parts of the mountain. Employees pump cement to the top to stabilize wobble rocks. Gregorio wants Cerro Rico to be a source of the Bolivian pride. Currently, however, this The world heritage place is threatened, just like the lives of thousands of inhabitants.
– Miners work at Cerro Rico 24 hours a day. They are the spine of Potosí in economic terms – says Gregorio.
Every now and then Luciano visits this local cemetery.
– Only members of the cooperative can rest here. My cousins, neighbors and former colleagues are resting here – reminds Górnik.
Today Luciano pays tribute to her deceased cousin, Zacarías.
– He was a good employee and knew how to do his job. He taught me the basics. Zacarías Isla, brother, protect me – asks Luciano.
Historians estimate that from the 16th century about 8 million miners died here due to diseases or accidents. Some graves are almost 200 years old. Luciano relies on El Tío in the mine, but here he prays to Jesus.
Protect us in the mine and outside. I am only a poor, humble man
Luciano prays.
Meanwhile, Cerro Rico still towers over the city, being a source of pride, fear and sadness of Bolivians.
