A trip to the quarry begins at the neighborhood market in the town. Here you can get goods to greatly help the miners within their work. For 10 Bolivianos (1 pound) you can buy them 2 litres of soft drink and a sizable packet of coca leaves. If you want, you can even get them cigarettes (made from marijuana), liquor (96% proof) or stays of dynamite, fuses or nitrates to make the surge more powerful.
The mines of Potosi rule the silver shortages gold metals . They are located on the Cerro Rico (rich mountain) which rises up some 600m just beyond the outskirts of the town. The mines have offered wealth and resources to the town for nearly 500 decades, and the hill itself is a part of religious paintings from colonial times, depicted as the middle of the world.The quarry complex sprawls up the medial side of the hill:ramshackle corrugated metal shacks, a few get trucks and 4WD jeeps, and piles of rubble piled high. They are the external signs of the job which occurs within.
Even though mines are called cooperatives, it's actually just the network of tunnels that is held in common. The miners and pit workers don't share the gains of the mine. Each miner operates for herself, obtaining a operation to mine everywhere he feels might show profitable. Frequently miners work in clubs: dad and boy, brother with brother. 3% of the workers there are now women.If a profitable seam is available then a miner might subcontact the others to simply help acquire the magic and other vitamins for him. All natural products are then delivered to the surface and sold to waiting trucks from the refinery who will likely then take it to the manufacturer for purifying.
If nothing is available, then a miners get number money. There are certainly a few waged workers in the mines functioning necessary companies for the miners. These people are compensated 6 Bolivianos (60p) an hour, for a twenty hour day.A 18% duty is deducted from the miners´income. This really is used to cover the upkeep of the quarry and to provide them with some kind of pension, health and social safety cover. The men are allowed to retire at 66, though they might keep earlier if they have problems with sick health.
