Daryl Peveto

STORIES: Madre de Dios: Ingenuity

Miners work to drive logs into a pit, using nothing more than rope and their own strength. The posts are tied together in order to hold up an ore sifter. The entire operation is very rudimentary, leaving the miners to use truck engines to pump the earth from the pit, and their own ingenuity and physical strength to make due for the rest. The miners of this crew work in 24-hour shifts, one day on and one day off, earning on average 1.5 to 2 grams of gold per day, or about $30 to 45 dollars.
Ingenuity, Laberinto Island, Peru, 8 February 2007

Miners work to drive logs into a pit, using nothing more than rope and their own strength. The posts are tied together in order to hold up an ore sifter. The entire operation is very rudimentary, leaving the miners to use truck engines to pump the earth from the pit, and their own ingenuity and physical strength to make due for the rest. The miners of this crew work in 24-hour shifts, one day on and one day off, earning on average 1.5 to 2 grams of gold per day, or about $30 to 45 dollars.