The Richest Silver Deposit on Earth: Cerro Rico

Cerro Rico de Potosí is more than a mountain — it is the richest silver deposit ever mined and one of the most consequential geological features in human history. This blog explores how an ancient Miocene volcanic dome became a world-class hydrothermal silver system, why its geology made it extraordinarily metal-rich, and how its discovery in 1545 transformed Potosí into the financial engine of the Spanish Empire. From the brutal patio process and forced mita labor to the global flow of Andean silver that fueled early globalization, we unpack the deep geological, historical, and economic forces behind this legendary mine, its multi-metal endowment of silver, tin, lead, and zinc, and how centuries of extraction have turned the mountain into a fragile, honeycombed landscape that is still being mined today.