Bolivia's child miners: 'There is no god in the mine, it is a demon. Our breath is what keeps it from collapsing' – video

Deep within the mines that honeycomb the Cerro Rico mountain in Potosí, Bolivia, children risk their lives plundering the earth for precious metals. Miners, some as young as 11, brave toxic gases and possible tunnel cave-ins to provide for their families, while young girls must also protect themselves from violent, predatory males. Centuries of silver extraction has left the fearsome 'mountain that eats men', as Cerro Rico is known, on the brink of collapse. But as one teenager explains in these extracts from Raúl de la Fuente's documentary Minerita, such perilous work must be endured as mining remains one of the few ways locals can make a living. Find out more about the film here