Primitive machinery used for extraction and purification of silver at the Potosi silver mines in Bolivia
The silver mines at Potosi in Bolivia are absolutely astounding. The miners work in tiny dusty tunnels, exactly as they did 400 years ago. The working conditions are appalling and the average life expectancy is 15 years. The salary is $5 a day, a king's ransom that lures young men from all over the country. The young lad we met was 13, he started work when he was 11. He asked for (and we gave him) fizzy drink, dynamite and cigarettes. Why not, he'll be dead by 30. The factory where they extract silver from the ore is equally impressive, though not as fantastically hazardous as working in the mines. The huge rock crusher, whirling wheels and drive shafts & belts are all ready to snatch and crush any body part that comes near and the open vats of toxic (including gallons of cyanide) chemicals pollute the air. Go to Potosi and be thankful that you were born in the west.
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Photo credit: © ColsTravel / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: america, american, basic, bolivia, bolivian, chemistry, conditions, dangerous, equipment, extraction, factory, machine, machinery, mines, potosi, practices, primitive, process, purification, silver, south, work, working
