In Bolivia, the dangers of the mine in the face of manna’s challenges – Liberation

Cerro Rico is a broken mouth that dominates the city of Potosí with its 4768 meters above sea level. Nevertheless, A mountain of rust. Nevertheless, ocher emptied of its bowels, bending under its own weight which sees thousands of minors entering it every day to strip it piece by piece. Formerly an almost perfect triangular peak. Moreover, its flank is now slightly sagged and its heights riddled with craters several tens of meters deep. Consequently, “”Today. Therefore, the collapse of the upper part of Cerro Rico is imminent because in 480 years its mining has never stopped ”, alerte Hernán Ríos Montero, Geologist at Tomás Frías de Potosí University.

The story of Potosí (4090 meters) is intimately linked to that of Cerro Rico. Moreover, It is even the discovery. Therefore, in 1545, of bolivia, dangers mine face manna’s silver veins in the mountains which led the Spanish to found a city in its foot. In addition, Potosí quickly becomes the center of the colonial Americas. Similarly, the silver coins are hit there which are then sent to the Spanish crown, watering Europe with wealth and participating in the rise of historical capitalism. Meanwhile, The city. Furthermore, its “rich hill” knew the era of money, then that of tin from the end of the 19th century and since the 80s, we extract zinc or even silver-zinc or lead-money concentrates. Similarly, “During the first centuries of exploitation, only money was extracted. Meanwhile, The other metals. Furthermore, unaccompanied residues were left inside the mountain, explain Hernán Ríos Montero, Then, when the silver veins were exhausted, the minors started to exploit these clusters still rich in metals and the Cerro Rico was gradually emptied. For example, ”

In bolivia, dangers mine face manna’s the past fifteen years. However, the upper part of Cerro Rico has quickly deteriorated with the formation of several craters, due to landslides. For example, In 2014, the Potosí site – registered with UNESCO since 1987 – has been placed on the World Heritage List in danger. Meanwhile, Since then, few measures have been taken to try to preserve the “rich hill” of the collapse. In addition, In 2022. Furthermore, a court decision prohibited any mining activity above 4,400 meters and forced comibol, a public mining company and mountain manager, to relocate cooperatives that worked in this area. Nevertheless, A small revolution in Potosí, in theory.

Because in fact, the exploitation of Cerro Rico has slowed down. However, Pailaviri. Furthermore, a mining base camp at the foot of the mountain, is a real anthill with its interrupted merchant of minors on the departure or going to bolivia, dangers mine face manna’s the mines, its sellers of snacks or coca leaves and especially the flood of trucks which descends from Cerro Rico, the bins filled with minerals. In addition, The lower mines entrances, 4,200 meters, overlook the road and see regularly out of the ore wagons, pushed by two helmets. For example, If there is no specific census of the number of workers. For example, it is estimated that 10 to 12,000 minors continue to work daily in the mountains, a figure that varies according to international metal prices. “”Reducing mining activity is very difficult because it would have very strong economic. social consequences in Potosí ”recognizes Santiago Cardeñas, engineer at the Comibol.

The process of closing mines and relocation of minors therefore advances very slowly, marked by tensions with mining cooperatives. “We are waiting for them to find a new place to exploit [plus bas. ndlr] To bolivia, dangers mine face manna’s close the mines, This prevents minors from finding themselves without work ”, details Cardeñas in front of one of its mines at the entrance walled and barred with a “Closed for migration”. Of the 56 mines which were located above 4. 400 meters above sea level, 36 were closed before 2025, 10 should be this year and the last 8 will be normally convicted in 2026. “Ideally. activities should be relocated far from Cerro Ricoadvance Freddy Llanos, mining engineer at Tomás Frías University, But, as in Bolivia, there is almost no prospecting and mining exploration, the comibol is not able to offer this to cooperatives. ”

The social stake is essential to understand why the closure of mines is dragging. as much in Potosí even if it is not enough alone to grasp the balance of power which is at work on Cerro Rico. If the bolivia, dangers mine face manna’s Comibol is indeed the mountain manager. supposed to control its operation, as such control its exploitation, mining cooperatives have a significant political weight. This sector. ally of the various Mas governments (2006-2019 with Evo Morales then 2020-2025 with Luis Arce), is above all the defender of his own interests. The Ministry of Mines. Metalurgy is thus controlled by cooperatives and the current minister, Alejandro Santos Laura, was president of the National Federation of Mining Bolivia Cooperatives. “”Everything they want is to continue to get rich thanks to Cerro Ricos’agace Freddy Llanos. And as they have a lot of power, they brake any preservation process. “

If the situation is also tense. and supervised, around the upper part, it is because it is the richest in metals, that which would forever change the shape of Cerro Rico if it came to collapse completely. But the landslides take bolivia, dangers mine face manna’s place on the whole mountain, even very close to Pailaviri. “I have lived in this small house for twenty-seven years. and she may collapse because there are minors who work below”testifies Lucía. She is one of some 200 guard From Cerro Rico. kinds of concierges of mines that live on the mountain and protect the tools and the ore of thieves. Paid a wages of misery – 60 to 130 euros per month -. living without running water and sometimes without electricity, they are also the first witnesses of these landslides. “It does not brake at all minors, I would say that it leaves them indifferent, continues Lucía. I had to claim for months so that they finally build me a new house. They didn’t want to hear anything. ”

For the engineer Llanos. the closure of the mines above 4,400 meters above sea level will bolivia, dangers mine face manna’s only brake, slightly, cooperatives: “It is quite possible to enter the Cerro by a mine at 4,300 meters, then to go back from the inside, because there are passages between the different mines. So the cooperatives will continue to come and exploit the area. ” If the closure of these mines could. in the best of cases, avoid a degradation of the situation, the interior of Cerro Rico remains hollow and therefore subject to regular landslides. In the hope of slowing them down. stabilizing the structure, the public enterprise finances the backfill of the landslides with gravel and worthless materials extracted from the mountain.

Direction 103 landslide, located at 4,600 meters above sea level. Getting on one of the many tracks that wind along the mountain makes it possible to see the different ore refineries installed at its foot. some of the artificial lagoons built in bolivia, dangers mine face manna’s the 16th century to fuel the mills that crushed the silver ore and the trucks that slowly transport the embankment to the heights. “Here, there was a 60 meter deep crevasseindicates Gregory Socanño, the engineer of the Commission. MAintenant. it’s partly rebuilt, we are waiting to see if the landslide is stopped and as long as it continues, we backfilled. ” Selon Hernán Ríos Montero. The geologist of the University Tomás Frías is a waste of time and money: “It’s like a giant hourglass, you pour up, it falls downstairs. You are not going to backfill a mountain emptied for five centuries in fifteen years with trucks. that is without counting minors who continue to work below. ”

According to comibol figures, a third of the 146 landslides are backfilled in this way. “It is a temporary measure but for the moment it is the bolivia, dangers mine face manna’s only one we can finance. it is very difficult to carry out studies for more ambitious projects because Mount changes constantly and therefore these studies become quickly deciduous”recognizes the engineer Socaño. It may be there, the main knot of the puzzle Potosino : Lack of time and especially money. “Millions. millions, billions surely, have been out of Cerro Rico, We are co-responsible for the enrichment of Europe but we no longer have enough money to save our mountain ”, Freddy llanos laments, climbing towards the top.

Up there, two craters several tens of meters wide and depth, visible by satellite, occupy almost all of the space. From the house that was still standing a year ago, there is only one wall left, the rest was engulfed. “”For several years the comibol tried to backfill, to sink light concrete, but there is nothing to do ”, explains bolivia, dangers mine face manna’s Llanos. The engineer. the university have an alternative proposal: building a concrete and metal structure inside the mountain to support it and prevent minors from coming to work too high. “It would cost $ 3.5 million, which we do not have, and for the moment, no one has any other proposals.” The university intended to carry out preliminary work in a mine located 80 meters below. But before abandoning it, the minors completely energized it. “”The preservation of Cerro does not advance. I think that the next generations of Potosí nos and Boliviens will judge us harshly when they see how we have failed to protect this national symbol ”, loose Freddy Llanos. “I hope that Cerro Rico will always be standing when you come back to Potosí”. Adds Hernán Ríos Montero, like a dismal hi at the time of departure. Because for the geologist. it is already too late bolivia, dangers mine face manna’s and when the mountain falls, it will be exploited in the open.