Rival gold miners in Bolivia fight using dynamite, leaving at least 6 dead

At least six people have been killed in a clash between rival groups of dynamite-bearing gold miners in northwestern Bolivia, police said, a rare instance of territorial disputes between the nation’s mining co-operatives turning fatal.

A powerful explosion thundered through the Yani mining camp as the two rival mining groups clashed over access to the gold mine near the mountain town of Sorata, some 150km (about 90 miles) northwest of the country’s administrative capital of La Paz, said Colonel Gunther Agudo, a local police officer. Several gold deposits straddle the remote area.

“We’re continuing the rescue efforts,” Agudo said.

Prosecutors arrived Thursday at the scene, where the blast before dawn had ripped through the mining community, wrecking several houses and cutting electricity, authorities said.

Bolivia’s mining industry stands out for its huge sector of co-operatives – legal groups of artisanal miners – comprising most of the mining labour force and wielding political clout in the resource-rich country where they have representation in Parliament.