Two kilometres into the Earth

The reason this town exists: Cerro Rico, the "rich hill", looming above the town of Potosi.

We came to Potosi with the intention of visiting the mines here. That was more than a month ago, before we were unexpectidly and suddenly abducted by nuns. Then add further delays caused by the recent revolution here in Bolivia (which blockaded many of the mines, as well as the rest of the country), and two bouts of sickness (one each). Thus, it wasn´t until today, the day before we leave, that we FINALLY managed to get around to it. But the wait was worth it, because it was a fascinating experience.

Cerro Rico, "the rich hill", is the reason why Potosi exists, indeed you could go so far as to say it is both Potosi and Bolivia in one. It is everywhere in this town - looming 700m above the city, it often peaks its head out above the two story buildings - like the Golden Gate in San Francisco, it is one of those landmarks that defines the city. But it is also everywhere (literally) in this country - the national coat of arms has Cerro Rico as its centrepiece, and it is thus on all the money, and all official documentation.

When you read a bit about Bolivian history, you start to understand why it is so important - silver was discovered in the hill in about 1544, and for the following three centuries, it supplied a sizeable fraction of the Spanish silver (I have the figure of 40% (!) in my head for some reason). By 1550, Potosi was not only the highest city in the world, but also the largest (160,000 residents) and the richest. This wealth was based largely on slavery (mainly from the surrounding indigenous peoples - african slaves couldn´t handle the high altitude very well) - it is estimated that during the three centuries of Spanish rule, about eight million people died inside the mountain, as a result of the extremeley harsh working conditions. After Bolivian independence in 1825, the large silver deposits began to play out (nice timing by the Spanish, you might say), but even to this day, silver is a major export from Potosi. Tin was important at the end the 19th Century, and has been replaced by Zinc more recently. And although the mines have been running for over 400 years, there is still plenty of wealth coming out of that hillside - indeed, in this town, it is THE source of wealth, for both rich and poor.

Sticks of dynamite for sale in a shop, Potosi, Bolivia

For the poor especially, Cerro Rico is one of the only opportunties out of poverty. A normal weeks work in the mine is sufficient to support a moderate sized family. And of course, like every mine, there is the hope of striking it rich, of finding a large nugget of gold or silver than will set you up for life. But mining Cerro Rico is not without its risks - as I alluded to earlier, the average lifespan of a miner is 15 years in the mine - Silicosis pneuomonia, caused by the inhilation of the fine silica dust ever present in the mine, leaves many families without fathers and husbands, not to mention the inherent risks associated with mining (cave-ins, explosions, arsenic and carbon monoxide gases etc), and the impact of extremely hard physical work, 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. There are approximately 12,000 miners working in the 100km of tunnels inside the hill during the week, which represents about 10% of the total population of Potosi.

Dorthe makes her way deeper into Cerro Rico

Our tour of the mine started with a visit to the miners market. Here, we brought some presents for the miners - the nuns told us that many of the miners suffer from malnutrition, so we made sure that we stocked up on fruit, and fruit juice, as well as the more standard coca leaves and puro. As is perfectly normal in Bolivia, you can also buy dynamite over the counter in most shops in this market - I brought a stick of dynamite, a five minute fuse, detonator, and about 500g of pelleted dry nitroglycerin (to pack around the dynamite and make a RUUUUL good bang) for Bs 15 (US $1.87). No questions asked. Our guide described it as a terrorist´s beginners kit - it was certaintly cable of bringing down an airliner, and here it was on sale to any 10 year old who has the money!

From the market we changed into overalls, donned hardhats and electric headlamps, and headed up the hill, and into the mine. The initial sections of the mine were very cold (and of course dark, but that goes without saying) - there were icicles hanging from the 400 year old stone work near the entrance. However, as we progressed further into the mine, past silver seams, zinc and tin deposits, and red iron ore, it began to warm significantly. Our first visit was to Tio, (the devil), who owns the minerals inside the hill - Tio is very important for the miners, as he not only supplies the minerals, but also protects the miners, much like Pachamama. It was thus natural that we made an offering (puro, coca, and a cigarette) for protection. The life-size clay statue had clearly received its fair share of offerings recently - Tio was knee deep in coca leaves, and was cradling a dried llama fetus in his arms. The llama fetus is offered on a regular basis by the miners, symbolising fertility and the yearly cycle. It is also rumoured amongst the miners that those who have struck it rich have done so by going so far as to offer human fetsuses to Tio - whether there is any substance to this, or whether it is just the rumours of jealous workmates, is unclear.....

The miners take a break from the hard work while waiting for the dust to clear after the explosion.

From Tio, we ventured deeper into the mine, at some points crawling on hands and knees through the ever narrowing spaces, eventually reaching one of the many working faces. There, a team of seven men were working fevoursly with a combination of pneumatic tools and manual labour to bury nine charges of dynamite in the face. We sat, talked with them and watched them work for a good while, before they lite the fuses and everyone retreated to a safe distance. What does dynamite sound like, 2km into the earth? A dull thud really, nothing too exciting - certaintly not as earth-shaking or as stressful as you might imagine. The miners then took a break for half an hour, waiting for the dust to clear, while, Dorthe and I headed out back to the surface, a full three hours after entering the mine.

The tour was a fascinating experience. After hearing so much about the mines, and meeting so many miners, visiting the mines put everything into context. The working conditions are unpleasant, to say the least - dry, cramped, temperatures varying between freezing and as high as 45°C in some places, and extremely dusty - everything and everywhere is covered in the fine silica dust that causes silicosis. Breathing was made ever more difficult by not only the dust and altitude, but also pockets of arsenic gas and natural asbestos deposits. And of course it is extremely physical - lugging sacks containg 50kg of ore on your back through tight, cramped spaces, (in places so small that you have to take your helmet off to fit through) is not easy. It is not a job than many people in the west would voluntarily undertake. Yet, at the same time, these people were clearly happy with their work - the comradeship in such tough and dangerous conditions is undeniable. And most importantly of all in this poverty racked town, it is one of the only opportunities to provide for their loved ones - here, that seems to outweigh the inevitably shortened lifespan associated with mining Cerro Rico.