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Potosi is a world famous silver mining town - in Spain the phrase "éste es un Potosi" is still used to for anything incredibly rich. The town was founded at the foot of Cerro Rico where the Spaniards of the 16th century had found an Indian silver mine. Most of its silver was worked out by the 18th century and by the mid 19th century its population had declined so much it was a 'ghost' town. However, since then other minerals have been discovered - they were discarded by the Spanish in favour of silver - and nowadays the mine produces tin in addition to small quantities of silver, lead and copper. The technology used, even nowadays is primitive, relying on acetylene lamps for lighting and manual labour, not machines, for cutting the tunnels with which the Cerro Rico is riddled. Potosi is a very cold place. Located at 4070 metres (13,300 feet) above mean sea level it experiences night-time temperatures well below zero but during the day it can become incredibly hot, especially in direct sunlight. Most of the mining population lives in the higher part of the city, close to the mine. Further down is the heart of the city with its colonial architecture and buildings such as The Mint (Casa Real de Moneda) and the Royal Treasury (Las Cajas Reales) which demonstrate the prosperity of the city in earlier centuries. |
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