Joe's World Backpacking Trip Stories and pics from my travels.

The mines in Potosi have existed since the time of the Conquistadors. During that time they used indigenous and African slaves to extract the Silver.  Eight million are said to have died in these mines during the Spanish conquest.  Now, the silver has dried up but you can still find zinc and tin.  The mines themselves are about in the same condition as they were during the conquest.  There are no cage barriers or safety equipment.  Unstable parts are held up with logs or 2x4s.  I went on a tour to a working mine, called a "cooperative."  Each miner has a place somewhere in the mine that he works, looking for minerals.  He owns his part, and sells his raw ore to cooperative factories that refine it.  The mine tunnels stretched several kilometers.  During our tour, I asked to do mine in Spanish so I was in a smaller tour with a guide and two other guys.  We went to the miner's market first and bought gifts to bring to the miners.  I bought the miner's some soda, coca leaves and some dynamite.  Our guide showed us the "97 grade" pure alcohol the miners drink and we took a shot each to pay respects to the miners who had been killed, afterwards we walked, or kind of stumbled towards the mine shaft to begin our tour.  The tour went down 4 levels, or about 75 meters underground with about 150 or so meters deep into the mountain.  It involved walking along the tracks for the ore carts and also scrambling on our stomachs through tiny holes leading to lower levels.  Climbing over or under wooden "protective" brackets to lower levels or into holes that the miners were working so we could ask them questions about how they live.  One guy was in his forties and had been in the mine for over twenty years.  It is said that the amount of silica and chemicals in the air (there was enough to bother me after about 20 minutes) kills a lot of people within 10 years.  It's amazing that people still live and work in these conditions, they have no other options.  I'm glad that bringing gifts to the miners was a requirment for the tour, I would not have wanted to go down there and not contribute at least a little bit to making their lives a little more bearable.