Notes

Dineral Silver Mine instructions Bolivian Health and Safety
Potosi silver quarry in Bolivia seemed to be established by the Spanish with slave labour in 1545. 465 years offers not shown a fantastic improvement in working conditions.

A go to towards the mine starts on the local marketplace in the town. Right here you can purchase goods to help the miners in their job. For 10 Bolivianos (1 pound) you can purchase them 2 litres of soda plus a large packet regarding coca leaves. If you wish, you can furthermore buy them cigarettes (made from marijuana), alcohol (96% proof) or sticks associated with dynamite, fuses or nitrates to make the explosion extra powerful.

The mines of Potosi control the surroundings. They will are situated on the Loma Rico (rich mountain) which rises upward some 600m simply beyond the borders of the city. The mines have got provided wealth and resources to typically the town for almost 500 years, and even the mountain alone is included inside religious paintings coming from colonial times, represented as being the centre regarding the world.

The particular mine complex sprawls up the aspect with the mountain: ramshackle corrugated iron shacks, several pick up trucks and 4WD jeeps, and mounds involving rubble piled high. These are the exterior signs of the particular work which requires place within.

Even though mines are called cooperatives, it is really only the network of tunnels that is owned within common. The miners and pit workers do not share the profits regarding the mine. Every single miner works intended for himself, getting a franchise to mine anyplace he thinks may prove profitable. Often miners operate teams: father and boy, brother with brother. 3% of the staff there are right now women.

If the profitable seam will be found then typically the miner may subcontact others to support extract the silver or other mineral deposits for him. All raw materials are usually then brought to the and sold to waiting vans from the refinery who will next carry it to typically the factory for cleansing.

If few things are located, then the miners receive no money. There are several waged workers within the mines running essential services regarding the miners. These types of people are compensated 6 Bolivianos (60p) an hour, for the ten hour day time.

A 18% taxes is deducted through the miners�income. This really is used to shell out for the repair of the quarry and to supply them with some type of pension, health and even social security handle. The men are allowed in order to retire at 66, though they might depart earlier if they undergo from ill well being.

Miners can begin work when they choose, and do the job as long since they require each day time - though generally they arrive at 8am and abandon at 5pm. The old lady stands at the entrance towards the mine keeping track of the miners throughout, to ensure that there is some record associated with how many people are inside in the event of an accident.

However some 8 million slaves (African and indigenous Indians) died in the mines in the particular time that they were run by the Spanish, casualties in the fosse today are fairly rare. These will be usually cases involving carbon monoxide poisoning.

Far more typical are the early loss of life and health associated issues affecting the lungs. Asbestos and even other harmful silicates occur naturally inside the mines, and typically the atmosphere is in addition thick with particles from the gold mining activities.

Entry in to the mines is using a simple hole designed into the part with the mountain. The mines stretch lower some 150m instructions a substantial depth, yet not enough to be able to warrant using pulls, so all advancement must be built on foot.

The narrow set involving rails lies alongside every passage with regard to the wagons which usually move materials round the mines. A fully laded wagon weighs 2 . not 5 tonnes and is pulled by simply a team regarding four men. Advancement downwards is quick, since the men frequently just sit within and let the wagon move naturally along the gentle slopes. Although the moving charrette is almost not possible to prevent, and there is virtually little space between its edge and the particular tunnel walls.

Upward movement, yet , is sluggish in spite of an not loaded truck. At one stage in the visit, it had been needed for several members of the group to join inside using the men to move the lorry up a particularly high section of track.

The passageways within the mines themselves are narrow: stooping lower is required at just about all times, even throughout the relatively large sections. Most associated with the time, it was necessary to stroll along half squatting; and in a few sections the just option was in order to crawl along fingers and knees.

Plumbing run through the entire passageways, frequently crossing these people from one aspect to the other making the threshold even lower. These kinds of pipes were to be able to provide oxygen to be able to the mine networking and served about three purposes: to offer air to the greatest areas where that was almost low existent, the supply general ventilation to the passageways, and to be able to give oxygen to be able to some of the machinery that operated inside of the mines.

Sometimes it was possible to listen to the fizz fizzle wheeze whistle snuffle with the oxygen by the pipes as it was introduced into the tunnels nearby. During these locations the air felt heavy and thick, while they were far away from typically the entrances to the particular mines and virtually any source of organic oxygen.

When contemplating oxygenation in typically the mines is have to not be overlooked that Potosi is the highest city in the global at 4200m in this article sea level, plus the mines them selves closer to 4600m - only simply below the height involving Mont Blanc. Also outside, the environment only contains regarding half the air available at marine level.

During the visit into the mines, which survived around two hours, it was possible to fulfill with several involving the people who worked there and speak with them.

The first was the particular oldest man in the mine. He or she was now 60 and had worked there for typically the last 30 years. We were told that this was excellent - most men only worked there found in their 20s plus 30s. When requested how long they would carry on and operate in the mine he replied that he would stay until he was 70 unless he was forced out prior by ill well being.

At present having been resting, for having been waiting for the men to return together with the loaded carriages, so these could be emptied into the large basked in order to transport the stones up to the surface.

Another guy was working away in a small chamber chiseling out a little niche for his / her stick of dynamite. It was sizzling in this lower region of typically the mine, and sweated as he repeatedly banged the chisel into the stone above his head. Its almost semed impossible to be able to reach him, intended for he was stored inside the machine behind a large pile of trash and also a wooden wheelbarrow, for the far aspect of the gaping 1m square hole found in the ground.

Typically the dynamite sticks are usually small, and later strike away a small location of rock. The particular fuses are set to around 3-4 mins. In an open up space this offers ample the perfect time to acquire a far distance away from the explosion; however in typically the cramped confines involving the mines, it is not necessarily possible to maneuver a fantastic distance in this time. It absolutely was possible to find many marks inside the walls through where previous explosions had been made.

After a number of minutes the person emerged out and said that he was completed for the afternoon. Paris Hilton Cosmetics or she had arrived at the mine from 4am, and experienced worked for approximately 8hrs or so. The particular dynamite would be set the following day.

He was inside his mid fifties; but did not think he would work for much longer on account involving the health difficulties with his lungs. Many of us gave him a few of the juice and coca leaves which he was very pleased together with. A few people acquired also bought smoking cigarettes on the market, and he happily recognized a packet associated with these also.

A third man was sitting in what passed because the rest area associated with the mine. Whenever I asked him or her what he had been mining for, they replied that because well as looking for silver, he expected to find topaz due to the fact that this was a really valuable mineral.

The particular men survive practically nothing but cocaÃna leaves, and will be continually chewing all of them coming from a large bag. They reckon about during 3 hand bags a day. The cocaÃna prevents fatigue, inhibits appetite and supplies energy.

The cocaÃna seems to function also as some sort of cure for just about all ills. We were informed that regardless of the sum of dust and asbestos in typically the air the miners did not want masks, since the particular coca leaves served being a filter. A single of the party injured her nose when banging in the low ceilings - and a cocaÃna leaf was right away placed on the influenced spot to numb the pain and stop typically the swelling.

Making each of our way out in the mines, we in addition passed by the particular statue of Theo - a larger than life size wooden representation involving the devil which in turn served as a good luck symbol for typically the miners.

They experienced adopted the determine of the satan in the moment of the Spanish occupation. The The spanish language had told them that Jesus plus God ruled above the world of light on top of the earth, yet that the underworld and all below the particular surface was the dominion of the satan. Since they worked well under ground that was not proper that they need to look to Lord, but accept their own place among typically the disciples from the satan.

Each day typically the miners place some sort of lighted cigarette plus a coca tea leaf in the mouth area on this devil as an offering with regard to good luck. About Fridays they furthermore provide him alcohol: a new drop on his mouth for desire, a drop in each corner of his torso to the four points regarding the compass, plus a drop upon his penis with regard to fertility. It is usually important to utilize purest form of alcohol possible due to the fact this will make sure that only the purest minerals and gems are found.

Ian Sumter

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