Industrial and commercial South America

by Annie S. Peck

In high water the Madre de Dios is navigable by steamers far up its tributaries, at other times by callapos which consist of two or three balsas fastened side by side. The balsa here is a small raft made of several logs. It is usually 22 to 26 feet long, 5-6 wide, carries 750 pounds, and is managed by three boatmen. A callapo or monteria may carry 3400 pounds with a crew of from 3 to 15 highly skilful men. They make 9 or 10 miles daily, navigating 10-12 hours. With the return of normal conditions the development of this region will be hastened, and greater benefits will be realized from the opening of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway which occurred in 1912.

CHAPTER XXVII
BOLIVIA: RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES

Mining

The mining industry, at present the most important in Bolivia, is likely to continue the leader for an indefinite period, although with easy communication and large population in the lower districts it may ultimately have a rival in forestal and agricultural products, or in cattle, certain to be at least a very valuable adjunct. The mineral riches of Bolivia may equal if they do not surpass those of Peru, though except for silver and tin they are probably less known. They include almost every variety of the precious metals, with others not so classed. To mention a few of these, there are gold, silver, tin, copper, bismuth, lead, antimony, tungsten, platinum, zinc, petroleum, with fine marbles, alabaster, malachite, opals, emeralds, jasper, borax, salt, etc. There are thousands of known lodes, but comparatively few are worked. The statement of the scientist, Raimondi, that the plateau of Bolivia is a table of silver supported on columns of gold is declared by Walle to be no exaggeration. A few of the mining belts where some work has been carried on will be mentioned.

Gold. At the present time little is done in the way of gold mining, tin and copper being more fashionable. Another reason for inactivity in this line is that the Bolivians possess the majority of the more favorably situated holdings, which they refuse to part with except at prohibitive prices or possibly at all, hoping some day themselves to be able to operate them. It is true that in the early colonial days enormous quantities of gold and silver both were produced and exported, although obtained by crude mining methods. It is thought that with modern machinery excellent if not better results may yet be obtained. In the 210 years previous to 1750 more than 12 billion dollars worth of gold was produced in the country. There has been a falling off since then, but one family in the last century obtained over $3,000,000 from their property. Between 1868 and 1900 over $120,000,000 is believed to have been produced. In many sections gold is known to exist in abundance and with further exploration it will doubtless be discovered in others. It is found in alluvial deposits, also in veins or lodes of quartz, from which the deposits are the washings. Veins of antimony which are common in Bolivia contain gold in chemical or mechanical mixture.

There are three regions where gold is found, all of considerable extent: the first and best known crosses the provinces of the Department of La Paz, chiefly on the east slopes of the Cordillera Real, continues through that of Cochabamba and runs out in Santa Cruz towards the Rio Paraguay. In La Paz are the well known deposits of the Tipuani River, of Chuquiaguillo, and many others. The second region begins in the southwest corner of the country, and passing south of Tupiza turns north through Potosí towards Santa Cruz. The third is in the northwest part of the Republic, joining the similar section in Peru. Although said to be the richest of all, it is practically unexploited and unexplored.

While the opinion is held that the lack of means of communication is all that prevents a large production of gold in Bolivia, I believe that to Americans this is a smaller drawback than the distance of the whole country from the United States; this objection will have less weight in the future. Certainly the hardships of those regions and the difficulty in reaching many of them is slight indeed in comparison with the trials experienced by early Alaskan miners. The Tipuani, for instance, is within a day’s horseback ride from the pretty town of Sorata, population 8000. Chuquiaguillo, now owned by an American company, is within easy walking distance of La Paz. Others are more remote, most of them on the eastern slope of the Cordillera Real, to be reached over passes of 15,000 feet or more, yet within a few days’ ride of civilization. The single region of the Tipuani is 120 miles long.

Besides the opportunities for placer mining there are strata formed of sand, clay, and stones, from 50 to 330 feet deep. Sometimes in these there are veins with gold in thin flakes 98 per cent pure. Some workings are open, others in shafts and galleries like an ordinary mine. However, difficulty is experienced in taking machinery over the poor trails, and also in obtaining labor. In May, 1904, a nugget was found at Chuquiaguillo containing 47 ounces of pure gold, nearly $1000 worth. One hundred miners are employed here at 50 cents to $1.50 a day. In the Province of Velasco, Department of Santa Cruz, is a region considered by Walle more accessible than others, to which one would come from the Atlantic to Corumbá on the Paraguay River or perhaps by rail from São Paulo, and enter Bolivia across the plains. It is thought that Bolivia may become one of the leading gold producers of the world.

Silver. The silver mines are better known and are now worked on a larger scale than the gold, although 10,000 lodes are practically abandoned or operated slightly. The suspension was not because of a scarcity of silver but for lack of capital, means of transport, and suitable machinery; also its lower price. A few of the largest mines have continued to be regularly worked. With the recently higher price of silver, greater activity has prevailed than a few years earlier. The richest of the ores contain from 10 to 50 per cent of silver and even 80; more has from 1 to 10 per cent.

The Department of Potosí is world renowned for its silver. In the first 40 years of colonial production more than $70,000,000 was taken from the Cerro Potosí, a sugar loaf 16,000 feet above the sea, in which 5000 mines have been opened. Up to the present time a billion dollars, one writer says four billion, have been realized from the silver of Bolivia. In neighboring Provinces of the same Department, Potosí, are many other mines, most of which now produce tin as well. The ores of Potosí which originally contained 60 per cent or more of silver are now poorer with more iron pyrites. The present queen of South American silver mines, the Huanchaca-Pulacayo, east of Uyuni, consists of a dozen groups over 8500 acres, a bed of fabulous richness. In the 28 years before 1901 it produced 4250 tons of silver. The majority of the stock is held in France. Some years ago the Pulacayo mines were flooded with hot water, but they have now been drained and are again operated. On the property is a town of 10,000 people, hundreds of whom are employed in the works, including women who first try out the ore. In 1918 $2,622,000 worth of silver was produced.