Cerro Rico
CountryBolivia
RegionPotosi
Year Opened1545
Size/Depth4,800 m altitude
MineralSilver/Tin
About Cerro Rico
The mountain that bankrolled the Spanish Empire. Produced an estimated 60,000 tonnes of silver over 400 years. Millions of indigenous people and African slaves died in the mines. The mountain has been mined so extensively it is literally shrinking. Still actively mined by cooperatives today.