This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more

Cerro Rico

x
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Phone:
+591 2 6231385

Address:
Cerro Rico, Bolivia

Cerro Rico , Cerro Potosí or Sumaq Urqu is a mountain in the Andes near the Bolivian city of Potosí. Cerro Rico, which is popularly conceived of as being made of silver ore, was famous for providing vast quantities of silver for Spain during the period of the New World Spanish Empire. It is estimated that eighty-five percent of the silver produced in the central Andes during this time came from Cerro Rico. As a result of mining operations in the mountain, the city of Potosí became one of the largest cities in the New World.After 1800, the silver mines were depleted, leaving far less valuable tin as the mine's main product. This eventually led to a slow economic decline. At the start of the 20th century, liberal reforms and an increase in government policies favoring foreign investment led to a decrease in nationalization of natural resources and an increase in ownership by private companies. Almost immediately following the change in Peruvian mining code in 1901 that allowed for the privatization of mines, a New York-based company purchased 80 per cent of the mines in the Cerro de Pasco region of the central andes.The newly formed Cerro de Pasco Corporation pursued immediate large-scale extractive mining, which contributed to a long-term change in the local eco-system. The need for large quantities of timber to build the mining infrastructure necessary to extract minerals, also caused high amounts of erosion and deforestation. Dams needed to produce electricity for this massive private project caused floods, which altered the land and damaged the natural environment. After centuries of extractive mining methods that severely damaged the local ecology the mountain continues to be mined for silver to this day. Due to poor worker conditions, such as a lack of protective equipment against the constant inhalation of dust, many of the miners contract silicosis and have a life expectancy of around 40 years. The mountain is still a significant contributor to the city's economy, employing some 15,000 miners. It is known as 'mountain that eats men' because of the large number of workers who died in the mines. Some writers such as Eduardo Galeano, in his work Open Veins of Latin America, estimates that up to 8 million have died in the Cerro Rico since the 16th century. Though this number has been attributed to the entirety of the Viceroyalty of Peru by Josiah Conder, who added that these numbers also take into account any depopulation of areas around mines. The work of historians such as Peter Bakewell, Noble David Cook, Enrique Tandeter and Raquel Gil Montero portray a more accurate description of the human-labor issue with completely different estimations. As a result of centuries long mining, in 2011 a sinkhole in the top appeared and had to be filled with ultra-light cement. The summit also continues to sink a few centimetres every year. In 2014, UNESCO added Cerro Rico and Potosí to its list of endangered sites, owing to uncontrolled mining operations that risk degrading the site.
Continue reading...
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Attraction Location



Cerro Rico Videos

Menu