La Paz, Bolivia — Early Thursday morning, an explosion at a mining camp near the mountain town of Sorata claimed the lives of five people, including a pregnant woman and a one-year-old baby, police confirmed. The detonation occurred during a heated conflict between competing groups of gold miners approximately 90 miles northwest of Bolivia’s capital.
Local authorities, including Colonel Gunther Agudo, indicated that the casualty list comprised not only the woman and child but also three adult males. Initial reports had erroneously stated six deaths, but this was later corrected to five after emergency teams completed their efforts to retrieve bodies from the debris.
The attack appeared to be the lethal climax of a long-standing feud over mining rights. According to Bolivia’s Deputy Interior Minister Jhonny Aguilera, the explosive device was triggered remotely, claiming the life of the suspected attacker as well.
The explosion, targeting a three-story residential structure, resulted in significant collateral damage. Several nearby buildings were demolished, vehicles and machinery including cars and tractors caught fire, and local power supplies were disrupted.
This violent outbreak is rooted in a broader conflict characteristic of Bolivia’s mining sector, which is dominated by artisanal mining cooperatives. These cooperatives have become particularly influential, currently generating 58% of the nation’s total mining output. These groups proliferated following economic downturns, filling voids left by large mining firms as they downsized.
The cooperative movement notably expanded under the presidency of Evo Morales, from 2006 to 2019. This shift saw a sharp increase in the informal mining sector’s size and economic significance, occasionally leading to jurisdictional disputes with Comibol, the state mining firm.
Such struggles over gold veins are symptomatic of wider tensions in the sector, which saw gold exports soar to approximately $2.87 billion in 2023. The scale of these exports underlines the high stakes involved in mining operations and the potential for disputes among different groups to escalate into violence.
Legal adviser Jhony Silva, representing one of the involved mining factions, stated that these disputes are not uncommon, reflecting the intense competition for lucrative mining rights within the nation.
Amidst this backdrop of economic opportunity intertwined with conflict, Thursday’s tragedy at Sorata serves as a grim reminder of the potential human cost of the gold mining industry in Bolivia. The incident underscores the urgent need for effective regulation and conflict resolution strategies to safeguard the lives of those who delve into the treacherous depths of the earth in search of its riches.