During Mexico's War of Independence, Nuevo Vizcaya began to break up. The first divisions were the creation of the states of Chihuahua and Durango, with Santiago Baca Ortiz as the first governor of the state of Durango along with the separation of the Sinaloa province, which included Sonora and Arizona. The state of Coahuila was separated shortly thereafter. With the 1824 Constitution the states of Durango and Chihuahua were created. Mining was depressed at the time, and the governor negotiated with the English to explore deposits of iron on the Cerro de Mercado. The English constructed installations such as those in Piedras Azules (La Ferrería) to process iron ore. These required large quantities of charcoal, which led to mass deforestation in the area. This eventually made the plant unviable.