[Jewelry making - Article 01366] - [Orchid] Bolivia silver mine visit

[John Burgess]

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    *G'day; As there has been a good deal of mailing about the
    conditions of jewellery makers, gem miners, and conflict diamonds, I
    thought perhaps Orchidians might be interested in the mail I just
    received from son Ian and his wife Susan who are touring South
    America at present:- 

        "In Potosi; where we spent the morning underground crawling
        through narrow spaces and climbing down rickety ladders and
        getting the feel of being a silver miner. The miners pay 400
        bolivianos a month to the owners for the right to dig, and
        anything they find is theirs, though the truck to take the raw
        material away also belongs to the mine owners, so the PAYBACK IS
        NOT GOOD. (sounds like Catch 22!johnb) There is also a govt mine
        for which workers are paid, plus they have a hospital, but if
        they find a winning streak it belongs to the govt. Some people
        get rich, most are lucky to make a living. There have been 44
        deaths so far this year. Women do not work underground, but
        widows are often found outside the mines bashing the dross to
        bits in the hope of finding metal someone else has missed.In
        Potosi where we spent the morning underground crawling through
        narrow spaces and climbing down rickety ladders and getting the
        feel of being a silver miner. The miners pay 400 bolivianos a
        month to the owners for the right to dig, and anything they find
        is theirs, though the truck to take the raw material away also
        belongs to the mine owners, so the PAYBACK IS NOT GOOD. There is
        also a govt mine for which workers are paid, plus they have a
        hospital, but if they find a winning streak it belongs to the
        govt. Some people get rich, most are lucky to make a living.
        There have been 44 deaths so far this year. Women do not work
        underground, but widows are often found outside the mines bashing
        the dross to bits in the hope of finding metal someone else has
        missed. In Potosi where we spent the morning underground crawling
        through narrow spaces and climbing down rickety ladders and
        getting the feel of being a silver miner. The miners pay 400
        bolivianos a month to the owners for the right to dig, and
        anything they find is theirs, though the truck to take the raw
        material away also belongs to the mine owners, so the PAYBACK IS
        NOT GOOD. There is also a govt mine for which workers are paid,
        plus they have a hospital, but if they find a winning streak it
        belongs to the govt. Some people get rich, most are lucky to make
        a living. There have been 44 deaths so far this year. Women do
        not work underground, but widows are often found outside the
        mines bashing the dross to bits in the hope of finding metal
        someone else has missed. In Potosi where we spent the morning
        underground crawling through narrow spaces and climbing down
        rickety ladders and getting the feel of being a silver miner. The
        miners pay 400 bolivianos a month to the owners for the right to
        dig, and anything they find is theirs, though the truck to take
        the raw material away also belongs to the mine owners, so the
        PAYBACK IS NOT GOOD. There is also a govt mine for which workers
        are paid, plus they have a hospital, but if they find a winning
        streak it belongs to the govt. Some people get rich, most are
        lucky to make a living. There have been 44 deaths so far this
        year. Women do not work underground, but widows are often found
        outside the mines bashing the dross to bits in the hope of
        finding metal someone else has missed." 

As Susan said, 'Not a good living'
Cheers,
johnb in NZ.
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