Gold of the Conquistadors
Mining is booming in South America. That's bad news for the environment.
Costing the Earth · BBC Radio 4
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Show Notes
Five hundred years ago the Spanish Conquistadors enslaved the population of South America in their desperate efforts to squeeze more gold and silver from the mines of Peru, Chile and Mexico.
Today the industry is booming again, driven by the global demand for copper and the rising price of precious metals. New technology has made the industry safer for workers but the sensitive environment of the Andes is under threat from the water demands of the mining process.