Cerro de Pasco
| Cerro de Pasco | |||
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| Town | |||
Sunset at Cerro de Pasco.
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 Cerro de Pasco
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| Coordinates: 10°41′11″S 76°15′45″W / 10.68639°S 76.26250°W | |||
| Country |
 Peru
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| Region | Pasco Region | ||
| Province | Pasco Province | ||
| Demonym | Cerreno(a) | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Jhoni Teodosio Ventura Rivadeneira | ||
| Elevation | 4,330 m (14,210 ft) | ||
| Population | |||
| • Estimate (2015) | 66,272 | ||
Cerro de Pasco (population 70,000) is a city in central Peru, located at the top of the Andean mountains. It is the capital of the Pasco region, and an important mining center. At 4,330 metres (14,210 ft) elevation, it is one of the highest cities in the world, and the highest or the second highest city with over 50,000 inhabitants, with elevation reaching up to 4,380 m in the Yanacancha area. It is connected by road and by rail to the capital Lima, as far as 300 km.
Cerro de Pasco became one of the world's richest silver producing areas after silver was discovered there in 1630. It is still an active mining center. The Spanish mined the rich Cerro de Pasco silver-bearing oxide ore deposits since colonial times. Sulfide minerals are more common in the Atacocha district however.
Francisco Uville arranged for steam engines made by Richard Trevithick of Cornwall, England, to be installed in Cerro de Pasco in 1816 to pump water from the mines and allow lower levels to be reached. However, fighting in the Peruvian War of Independence brought production to a halt from 1820 to 1825. Gray Brechin notes that the mines of Cerro de Pasco were a chief source of wealth for William Randolph Hearst and his family.
Three major mines in the area include the Machcan, Atacocha, and Milpo. SIlver ore occurs in hydrothermal veins or as sulfides and clay minerals replacing the Jurassic Pucara limestone. Porphyry dacite are found intruded near the Atacocha and Milpo mines along the Atacocha Fault. Compania Minera Atacocha started operations at the Atacocha Mine in 1936. Ore minerals include galena and sphalerite.
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