Potosi - Silver mines

From Sucre we had a 9.30AM bus pick up to Potosi. Potosi is a Town that has basically developed around a huge mine which is still live and working today. Before we arrived here we had been warned that this probably would not be the highlight of our trip, nor the most pleasant experience but it would be pretty informative, eye-opening and unique to say the least.

When we arrived we took a walk around the town which was a mix of huge colonial old builds from the peak of the Spanish rule and more modest and basic new builds similar to that in the majority of deprived Bolivian towns we had previously seen. Many of these surrounded the base of the huge mine which served as a permanent backdrop when walking anywhere here and was an ever present reminder of the tough working nature of this place.

The main square in Potosi with the mine as a backdrop

Closer to the mine

Potosi was also extremely high above sea level..
over 4000m good altitude training for Macchu Picchu

A typical street in Potosi

A view of Potosi

That afternoon we headed to the mint house. This was the largest and grandest looking building in the

whole town and was built by the Spanish to process all the silver  extracted by  indigenous slave labor from the mine. We took a tour of the mint house and viewed some relics, old coins and artifacts from the colonial times. As an indication of the plentiful supply of silver exploited by the Spanish here there was a huge array of silverware to view that had been recovered and preserved.  There was even a toilet made of silver.  We also saw the equipment, working areas and techniques they used to process all the mined silver into coins. Originally the coins had a ratio of 90% silver 10% copper. They were so soft (silver being a very soft metal) that people would literally snap coins into pieces to pay for things in smaller denominations. Eventually the next in line to rule didn’t like the idea of this so changed the to ratio 7 parts silver to 3 parts copper to make a harder coin but produced more denominations.

The mining was so intense, Spanish rule so strong, and slave trade so appalling that it was said enough silver was extracted to build a bridge from Potosi to Madrid and solemnly, another bridge back from the bones of all the slaves that died working there. It was really interesting to visit the mint house and quite eye opening to realize that this relatively small south American town was actually once the richest in the world during the Spanish colonial times. 

One of the coolest things to see was the history of the American dollar sign $ that we are all familiar with today. Apparently it derived from the old PTSI mint mark found on Spanish pieces of eight. The mark appeared on silver coins minted from 1573 to 1825 in Potosí, and would have been widely recognized throughout the North American colonies. The mint mark, composed of the letters "PTSI" superimposed, bears a strong resemblance to the single-stroke dollar sign . 

PTSI mint mark

Another theory is that it may have derived from the Pillars of Hercules with an s shaped banner around them. Either way, it’s a strong indication of the historical wealth and importance the Spanish once held.

 The Two Pillars of hercules on the left

After the minthouse we headed out for some dinner and were given a short briefing on the day ahead of us tomorrow. This would be a trip into the actual Potosi mine that produced all this silver!! Not only that but it is still very much being mined to this day so is fully active.

To give us a brief history of the mining in Bolivia and to help us fully appreciate what we were stepping into tomorrow morning, we watched a documentary that night that was produced by a German film company. It was about two young boys aged 12 and 14 and was filmed about 10 years ago. It followed their lives working in the Potosi mines as children and was a pretty hard hitting bit of footage to watch. It was entirely real and quite hard to watch at times but apparently a genuine snapshot of what mining life was like and to a certain extent still is. 

The documentary we watched

It is not uncommon at all for children as young as 10 to be working in the mines to support their families. It is only recently that the government of Bolivia introduced a law to make it illegal for anyone under the age of 14 to be working in the mine. Sadly despite this child labour in these horrific and quite scary circumstances still occurs. Kike our guide has actually met the two brothers now in their adult lives both in their twenties. He said the older one is out of the mines and trying to make a life for himself in the tourism industry, however the younger one is still in the mines trying to support his young family.

That night with the image of the mining conditions still freshly in our minds, we all went to bed. Throughout the night we could hear what we thought were fireworks going off all night but in the morning realized it was actually dynamite used by the miners to excavate deeper and open new mining channels.

Shortly after breakfast we were picked up by a tiny little hunched over man who went by the name of little wolf. Steph actually had to give the mining experience a miss as she was feeling pretty ill from general Bolivianess. This was probably a blessing in disguise as it turned out to be quite an unpleasant experience yet one Tom is glad he did.

Little wolf

First of all little wolf took us to a little market stall at the base of the mine. Here he described how it was still a working mine and that we should buy some gifts for the miners as a token gesture for their tolerance to letting us in the mine. This consisted of cocoa leaves (something sought after by every South American worker) a bottle of fizzy drink and some workers gloves . This set us back about 20 bolivianos each (£2.00). he then explained to us how he used to work in the mines until he recently stopped to run the tours into them.

cocoa leaves and cigarettes.. Mining essentials.

He also explained to us about the tio (the devil). The miners believe tio has a greater power over every mine. It is said that the tio was invented by the Spanish rule to strike fear into the already deeply religious indigenous slaves as a way of emotional blackmail to ensure they never rebelled against the Spanish rule and terrible mining conditions. They built up fear amongst the slaves so that if they were to stop mining or disrespect the mines then tio would punish them. This was further enhanced by common mining disasters such as tunnel collapses or dangerous explosions which often killed miners. They put this down to the tio which is still a firm belief today. Because of this the miners all make offerings to tio to keep them safe in the mines. 

Little wolf also showed us sticks of dynamite which we all had a go at putting in our mouths for a picture. Bolivia is one of the only places in the world where you can freely buy dynamite on the street. Pretty crazy and quite scary. He then showed us a miners alcohol which was 96% proof. Basically white spirit. This was passed around and we all tried a little sip. We made Melissa go first as it was her BIRTHDAY of all days… as you can see it was extremely unpleasant which I can also vouch for despite being a lover of most things alcoholic!! 

Dynamite demonstration.. No actual explosion.

Little wolfs favourite drink

Melissa shortly after her birthday shot.

Tom and some dynamite. (and Susan back left)

Cocoa leaves (mining energy)

Anyway, after this we were taken to the actual entrance of the mine. We were kitted up in our mining gear and advised on the dangers. The main one being that if little wolf shouted we all had to rapidly jump out of the way and off of the track as there were 3-4 miners rattling down with a big metal cart full of rubble which cannot be stopped in a hurry. This happened a few times and was pretty unnerving to say the least. So much so that Melissa (bless her) had to leave after the first stretch of entrance after having a panic attack. Not a great way to spend your birthday. 

Mine entrance

Suited and booted.

Tom with Melissa 'G' Billic

Just before entering

We carried on and shortly came to a statue of the main track inside the mine which was of the tio. Apparently each mine has a tio statue or representation and every time the miners or anyone enter the mine they give the statue an offering.  Because of this it was covered in cigarettes, the 96% proof alcohol and scattered cocoa leaves. Little wolf made a prayer of some sorts on our behalf and we carried on into the mine.

Tio

Tio offerings

It was dark, cramped, disorientating and quite scary. We probably spent about 45 minutes  to an hour in there which was more than enough time especially with workers and carts hurling past us with cheeks bulging full of cocoa leaves and covered in muck and grit. The mine is not really mined for silver anymore as it has been pretty much exhausted. Despite this, there is still an abundance of multiple lucrative minerals being mined.

Some minerals inside the mine

Apparently the average lifespan of a miner is no more than 30 due to all the nastiness they breathe in whilst down there.  Usually most of them die from Pneumoconiosis. Despite a greater awareness these days, there is still an abundance of young men spending their lives in the mine. Some choose to do this because they have no other choice and some because they know nothing more.

It was real eye opening and something tom was glad he experienced but probably not something he would like to repeat.