El País points out that even a highly skilled and qualified miner can only earn around €2,000 for three months' work.

Depending on their luck and the quality of the product, a miner might earn around 125,000 Guaranis per gram of gold powder.

At the time of the strike, the average miner was earning $11 an hour, less than other skilled blue-collar workers in the area.

"Those miners work hard and earn little," he said.

Black miners other black mine employees earn an average of $250 a month, about one-third of white miners' pay.

The voucher system itself is anachronistic, he said, especially since miners earn 15,000 to 20,000 rubles a month.

In winter, with a decent stall, the miner might earn fifty or fifty-five shillings a week.

Most miners earn a precarious living working long hours in dangerous and unhealthy conditions.

The average black miner earns $250 a month, a third of what white miners make for the same work.

During the Great Depression the miners earned 50 cents an hour or $4.00 a day.