5 Centuries Deep

Bryan — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:31:33 +0000

Potosi, Bolivia Miners: 5 Centuries Deep is a photo documentary project that aims to explore the changing face of the mining community and mining industry in Potosi, Bolivia. Photographer Irina Zhorov hopes to bring more awareness to
the present situation of the miners, the surrounding towns, the country’s nationalization efforts and work with foreign companies in the context of a Colonial past. It’s a beautiful and terrifying place that has, according to lore, yielded enough silver to build a silver bridge from Bolivia to Spain. In reality, it does not fall too short of that claim – it was the biggest silver mine in the world and has been mined continuously for about 500 years. With ore deposits close to exhaustion, new foreign companies operating on site, and a president that promises not to repeat history’s mistakes in Bolivia, changes are afoot. Whether the mining industry in Potosi is changing or, perhaps, yielding its last is yet to be seen and this project aims to document it.

Please read more about it and help make it happen at Kickstarter: Potosi, Bolivia Miners: 5 Centuries Deep.

A miner in Potosi, Bolivia

Pure Gold?

Bryan — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:24:10 +0000

The English charity CAFOD (the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development) recently sent photojournalist Richard Wainwright to Ituri in the the Democratic Republic of Congo to document the politics, violence, and poverty surrounding gold mining. BBC News is displaying some of the photos, and they are also part of CAFOD’s “Pure Gold?” exhibition portraying the gold mining industry around the world. The organization hopes to bring attention to the poor and poverty stricken miners who labor in dangerous situations, ultimately receiving none of the final value of the gold they mine. The mining also results in local water sources becoming extremely polluted, nearby indigenous populations being relocated, and disruptions to local economies.

Magical Places Fine Art interviewed Wainwright about his trip. Wainwright gives some insight into his photographic techniques as well as some of the challenges associated with documenting a difficult story.

When you’re sweating profusely and stuck thigh deep in mud looking up at ‘fellow miners’ grinning away after telling you it is safe to cross a mud pit you realize you have made some sort of connection. I met incredibly articulate miners who told me about their lives and how war, corruption and gold has decimated their lives.

Check out some of the photos on CAFOD’s “Pure Gold?” website and on BBC News.

Collective Lens » mining

5 Centuries Deep

Pure Gold?