THE MINERAL ZINC IN BOLIVIA

By Carlos Martinez & Mohammad Jawad

Photo Credit: United States Geological Survey and the Mineral Information

Institute

Where Is Bolivia?• Bolivia is located in South America.

It borders with Brazil to the North and East.

Peru and Chile to the West.

Argentina and Paraguay to the South.

CREDIT : "Bolivia Info." Www.macalester.edu. 09 Nov. 2001. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. <http://www.macalester.edu/courses/GEOG61/amartin/bolivia.html>.

Picture Credit: Bolivia Info

Info On Bolivia Bolivia has a Native American population which

mixed Spanish and West and Central African culture (Bolivia Info).

The population of Bolivia is 9,863,000.

About 80% of the population speaks Spanish

Credit : "Bolivia Info." Www.macalester.edu. 09 Nov. 2001. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. <http://www.macalester.edu/courses/GEOG61/amartin/bolivia.html>.

Picture Credit: Flag-map of Bolivia

Potosí mining background

Potosí, Bolivia was said to be the highest city at a hight of 4000 meters, but that didn't make it wealthy (Bahaav Bazaar).

Cerro Rico, aka Rich Mountain, doesn't live up to it's name

anymore; since the history of its wealth was stripped away by the Spanish colonials (Bahaav Bazaar).

When the Spanish arrived in 1544, they found the silver deposits,

and they quickly began to collect the resources for themselves (Bahaav Bazaar).

Potosi soon then became a mining town, and its movement up toward wealth and quality (Bahaav Bazaar).

Potosi mining history

After the arrival of the Spanish many of the natives were put to hard continuous work in the minds. Many of the natives were dying because of brutal beatings, or from the exposure to poisonous mercury vapors.

In the 1600's the Spanish government began to import African

American slaves to replace the native workers. Many of them also died from brutal beating and mercury exposure e; many more developed lung disease and suffered from mining accidents.

While many of the miners were dying, Spain was getting really wealthy

off the labors; the silver being mine was used to help pay of Spain depts., which boosted up Europe's economy.

(History of Potosi Mine)

Early Mining In the early 1800's the mines weren't as progressing

as they were when they first started in the 1600's. since the supply of silver was going down, tin was the only main product that the mines had left was tin; tin was very valuable to the Spanish. This led to the struggle for Bolivia independence. Even after its independence, Bolivia didn't make as much profit of the minds like the Spanish did. There is still at least 8,000 active minors, and 8 million have died in the mines.

(History of Potosi Mine)

Zinc

Even though silver is still being mind, zinc is now the more profitable metal for the Potosí minors.

Minera San José S.A. is one of Bolivia’s major zinc producers

Rio Tinto has a one third interest in Minera.

It also owns Comsur, which is Bolivia's largest private mining company.

(Zinc and Lead Mining in Bolivia)

Comsur Comsur operates six mining operations

It produces 37.5% percent of Zinc in Bolivia

Comsur has had strained relationships with the government over an environmental spill that occurred in 1995.

(Zinc and Lead Mining in Bolivia)

Uses of Zinc The metal is employed to form numerous alloys

with other metals such as brass, nickel silver, typewriter metal, commercial bronze, spring bronze, and German silver.

Zinc sulfide is used in making, X-ray and TV screens, and fluorescent lights.

Zinc is an essential element in the growth of human beings and animals. Tests show that zinc-deficient animals require 50 percent more food to gain the same weight as an animal supplied with sufficient zinc.

(Zinc Periodic)

Bolivia Mining Conditions Even though slavery has ended in the mines,

little has changed in the mines. Working days are long. There's poor ventilation,

the shaft network is old fashioned; no sufficient lighting. Expose sure to dangerous power cables (Dunnle Tony). The Bolivian miners squeeze through small crawl spaces and climb old wooden ladders to get through the mines.

There is a risk of the tunnels to collapse (Reuters).

Miners spend a lot of time in the mines in order to make a sufficient amount of money to survive.

Average life expectancy is 40 year old (Bhaav, Bazaar).

Photo credit: travel Blog

Elevators are not installed for moving between levels.

Picture Credit : Travel Blog

Child Labor Mining is often a family tradition an estimated amount of 1,000 children between the

ages 8-12 years-old are among the 8,000 miners who work in Cerro Rico.

It is not uncommon to find a child working alongside his father in the mines.

Families struggling to support themselves will often send their children to work in the minds.

There are no child labor laws provided by the government, or mining regulations either.

Natives start at an early age and die young.

Picture Credit: Chelsea Wieber Credit (Ore, Diego)

Escaping the Mines of Potosi, Bolivia, and Cerro Rico Tours

A few miners are now escaping the long and dangerous days in Cerro Rico, finding work as tour guides for the tour operators in Potosi who take tourists into the mines.

For some in Potosi, Bolivia, mining is the only life

they know and will ever know. In this remote region of Bolivia there are limited other options for work.

And while the potential still exists to make a living in the Cerro Rico mines of Potosi people will continue to work them whatever the cost.

Work Cited Bhaave, Bazaar. "Cerro Rico de Potosi keeps going and going." CommodityOnline. 21 Oct. 2009. Web. 29

Oct. 2009. <http://www.commodityonline.com/news/Cerro-Rico-de-Potosi-keeps-going-and-going-21307-3-1.html>.

Dunnel, Tony. "Bolivia Mining Conditions and Child Labor in the Potosi Mines Read more: http://bolivia.suite101.com/article.cfm/a_miners_life_in_potosi_bolivia#ixzz0VNrYNQTl." Suite101.com. 2 July 2009. Web. 29 Oct. 2009.

"Flag-map of Bolivia." Wikimedia Commons. 17 June 2007. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag-map_of_Bolivia.svg?uselang=lt>.

"History of Potosi Mine !" Robertwynn. 5 June 2005. Web. 13 Nov. 2009. <http://www.robertwynn.com/PotosiH.htm>.

Ore, Diego. "Bolivian president unlikely to crack down on mine seizures." MineWeb. 19 Oct. 2009. Web. 29 Oct. 2009. <http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72068?oid=90874&sn=Detail>.

Reuters. "Bolivia fears collapse at Potosi, limits mining." MiningWeekly.com | Global Mining News | Mining Research | Mining Companies. 21 Oct. 2009. Web. 29 Oct. 2009. <http://www.miningweekly.com/article/bolivia-fears-collapse-at-potosi-limits-mining-2009-10-21>.

Stahl, Johannes. "The Man-Eating Mines of Potosi." CulturalSurvivor. Apr. 2001. Web. 29 Oct. 2009. <http://www.culturalsurvival.org/ourpublications/csq/article/the-man-eating-mines-potosi>.

Wieber, Chelsea. "Children who Work." Global Invision. 8 July 2008. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. <http://www.globalenvision.org/topics/informal-economy?page=1>.

"Zinc." Periodic. 15 Dec. 2003. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. <http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/30.html>. "Zinc." RedOrbit. 5 Mar. 2001. Web. 11 Nov. 2009. <http://www.redorbit.com>. "Zinc and Lead Mining in Bolivia." Mbendi. 6 June 2008. Web. 11 Nov. 2009.

<http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/ldzc/sa/bj/p0005.htm>.