A mining town has 50 small-scale mines run by 22 cooperatives, each made up of eight to 10 workers, who earn no more than $120 a month; the lack of oxygen deep inside the mines makes for precarious and "exhausting" work conditions
San Cristobal, Venezuela: Henry Alviarez says he began small-scale coal mining in Venezuela's western Tachira state out of "necessity" due to the country's ongoing economic crisis which has deepened during the coronavirus pandemic.