Franklin Mining - FMNJ - BRIDGE OF SILVER -
Legend has it that enough metal was extracted from -
The Cerro Rico Mine -
to build a bridge of silver from South America to Europe,
and the mine has left an indelible mark on Bolivian culture
due to the cruel toll it took on indigenous slaves.
Its vast reserves turned the nearby city of Potosi -
into the most populous in the Americas in the 17th century,
with some 120,000 inhabitants --
more than London, Paris or Madrid at the time.
A slump in silver prices threw its elaborate colonial
churches and mansions into a long decline and,
while the recent metals boom has brought a little
prosperity back to Potosi, the chilly highland region
is still one of Bolivia's poorest.
"Mining started in the Cerro Rico in 1545,
and it hasn't stopped since," said Manuel Farfan,
the regional head of Bolivia's state mining company Comibol.
"Production's increased today because of the prices,"
he said.
Today about 15,000 miners work the site every day
in round-the-clock shifts, and conditions have not changed
much since Spanish conquerors brought slaves to work
here nearly 500 years ago.
The centuries of mining mean rich seams of silver
are harder to find so greater risks are being taken.
"There are few places with a lot of silver
so the danger is that miners are excavating
the natural pillars that act like internal beams
inside the Cerro," said Samuel Rosales,
a former miner and sociologist who does research
for Care International, a nongovernmental organization.
Potosi's mining director, Elias, said irresponsible removal
of the natural beams meant more and more pressure was
building up inside the mountain.
"The exploitation has caused a kind of sinking to take place
in some parts of the sides of the Cerro Potosi
in the recent past," he said.
Regional and national mining officials and experts
from the state geology service, Sergeotecmin,
are about to start work on a survey of the site. -
The bottom line is the most safest for all -
incl. most safest for all miners, tourist etc.
Converting the site into an open-pit mine -
would cut the risks -
for all for the future -
But local people have fought past proposals that would
change forever the graceful silhouette of the mountain,
which stands behind the chilly Andean city that lies
nearly 4,000 meters (13,125 feet).
"The people of Potosi wouldn't allow it because
the Cerro Rico is precious to all Bolivians,"
Elias said.
That's in the past -
Franklin Mining have to give them all more safety education -
FMNJ -Mission - will ask the miners -
do you want to continue the mining? -
to the most safety for all -
with the highest economic future for all in Potosi -
incl. for good living standard for all children, families -
the open pit is common sense and
all with more information and education by -
FMNJ - Mission - agree -
its to be at the right place -
at the right time -
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