Mining Impacts in Latin America
For my work in my Spanish class: Comunidad Global En Accion, or "Global Community in Action," I have been researching the impacts of the mining industry on Latin America through the lens of human rights, which has been a major topic of discussion thus far. I'll cover some material here that I wasn't able to cover in my presentations in class. Mineral mining is a major part of the economy in Latin America. In Peru, gold is a major export, and in Cuba, the country that I focused on researching in AP Spanish Language, is an exporter of nickel. In Mexico, silver and gold are mined. However, the cost of mining these material is multifactorial and significant. Miner safety is perhaps one of the largest problems that stems from the mining industry. This comes primarily from the substances that miners are exposed to. Miners are exposed to fine dust particles that contain silica, which causes silicosis, a lung disease, in about 15-22% of miners in Bolivia and Columbia. M