ABSTRACT
Bolivia is known worldwide for its tin, silver, gold, zinc, lead, wolfram and antimony, as well as a large range of other mineral deposits. The country lies between the two Andean mountain chains, the Cordillera Oriental and the Cordillera Occidental, up in the high plains and valleys. The presence and importance of state-owned enterprises in the mine industry has greatly diminished in recent years, as a result of new economic and political schemes resulting in privatizations and mine shutdowns. The small scale mines use little technology, as do the mining cooperatives where miners perform hard physical work, confronting problems arising out of the harsh conditions. The Barranquilla activity, or gold washing, concentrates the work of many women, the Barranquilleras, in the gold mining area. Child labour at the mines is considered the worst of child exploitation. Camps were created around the mine sites; artificial, temporary and inhuman.
