Cerro Rico is a designated heritage site... as the mine has a history that dates back into the approx. 1,600's ... some of that history is bloody, with the lives of over 10,000 having perished in the mines over the centuries... <A HREF="http://www.nerc.ac.uk/publications/documents/pe-wint04/cerrorico.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.nerc.ac.uk/publications/documents/pe-wint04/cerrorico.pdf</A>