La Rinconada, Peru is known as the highest human settlement in the world, located at an altitude of over 16,700 feet in the Andes Mountains. It is a mining town primarily focused on gold …

Mining activity is the economic engine of La Rinconada. Thousands of people work in precarious conditions, extracting gold by hand using mercury, a highly toxic substance that …

The residents of La Rinconada live with hypoxia daily— a dangerous condition where the body struggles to obtain sufficient oxygen. Chronic mountain sickness is rampant; its symptoms include severe …

"La Rinconada and its gold mines are still very far, but the River Ramis is now bringing contaminated water from the area, particularly from the mining town of Ananea, directly into the lake."

Localizada a 5.100 metros acima do nível do mar, a cidade peruana de La Rinconada, nos Andes peruanos, é o assentamento permanente mais alto do mundo. Situado a cerca de 4 horas da margem norte do lago …

How does the premier industry in a country like Peru protect its most vulnerable source of labor? The answer is complicated. Communities like La Rinconada strike a delicate, and sometimes volatile (Ampudia, 2014), balance …

The Rinconada Goldmine lies in the city of La Rinconada, Peru. At 16,732 ft above sea level, it claims the title of the highest permanent settlement in the world.

A miner strains under a heavy load as he makes his way down the main street in La Rinconada. There are no vehicles here, and all supplies must be carried in and up. There is …

No-one collects garbage in La Rinconada. Women and men alike risk their lives and subsist in squalor in the mountain's thin frigid air.

A woman miner separates gold from ground rock, using mercury and a pan, during the artisanal processing of gold ore in La Rinconada, Peru.