Gold has been mined in the area surrounding the small Costa Rican town of Las Juntas for over 100 years.
In the beginning, large-scale North American mining companies exploited the people who worked for them.
Today the large-scale mining operations are gone, but the old tunnels are still worked by local artisanal miners or coligalleros as they are called in this town.
Conditions in the mines are even more dangerous.
Minors process the gold using mercury in their own backyards alon.
Common Ground Research Networks In exchange for gold: the legacy and sustainability of artisanal gold mining in las juntas de abangares, costa rica, paperback/richard a. niesenbaum
