- used to be one of the Christians richest city in the world -
Cerro Rico is a huge bare mountain that stands behind Potosi town (4070 M).
The Silver found within this mountain gave rise to the biggest Silver mine in the world at that time and also to the city of Potosi.
The Spanish founded the city in 1545 and legend has it that there was enough silver taken from the hill to build a bridge from there to Spain.
It certainly made Bolivia one of the richest ancient Inca regions of the world.
When the Spanish financed the wars with the silver and gold - but they lost the wars and their slaves - the Potosi city became a ghost town leaving it preserved in its colonial state.
It was some new demand for silver, tin, copper, lead and strategic rare minerals are also mined, that re-vitalised some of the city but never to its magnificient historic past state.
The working conditions have never been very good and the mine has a tragic history.
It is indeed an eerie experience to visit the mine but fascinating to watch the century techniques employed to work the mountain.
The city of Potosi itself has 2000 colonial buildings.
Some of the grander ones such as the old Mint, the Cathedral, and several churches with Baroque-Mestizo facades are very impressive but most of the others are run down in a sad condition.
The Christian old town itself is very picturesque old legend.
The Cerro Rico - has only at the best been touched by the century old mining techniques to about 2000'deep and the richest deeper deposits - have the miners still only got the smell off.
FMNJ with new mining techniques can go more than 20000' deep and the ore values most often increases and get wider and richer with the depth becomes the treasure chest - the Mother Lode.
FMNJ - 888 - mission ? - - to help the Miners to Safety -
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