The farmer and mechanic., 1914-08-25
THE TREASURE VAULTS OF THE ANDES
How Bolivia Will Exhibit Their Wonderful
Wealth at the San Francisco Exposition.

copper will be produced from the |
mines now being worked below where |
that silver lay.
The greatest Of the silver mines Of
Bolivia have been those of Potosi |
There is a mountain there that has
produced more Of that metal than
any other place in the whole world
The mines were found about fifty-two
years after Columbus discovered this
hemisphere, and from then on until
the nineteenth century the average
product was more than $12 600, 600
year, or $1,0O0.00O a month, for 294
years. The total sum amounted to
over three billions of dollars, and it
is estimated that almost four billions
have been taken out to this day. The
mountain of POtOsi is now honey
combed with mines, and the silver ore
is largely exha usted; but the silver
seems to have run> into tin, and
British company is working the mines
for tin, with the silver as by-pro-
duct. In Cerro de Pasco. the silver
and gold mixed with the copper pay
all the expenses Of the mining, and
the copper is pure gain. 1t will prob
ably be SO with the tin of POtosi. The
mines have always shown great values
in tin, but the ignorant mixers threw
the tin away. They separated it from
the silver, allowing vast quantities Of
the cheaper metal to be washed off
now something like 1000 abandoned
silver mines scattered over it, and
there are hundreds of these that will
soon be worked for silver and tin. I
am told that the mountain also con-
talns copper.
The Huanchaca silver mine has
produced more than 5000, 900 pounds
of pure silver, and the mileage Of it's
| underground workings is said to be
| longer than that Of any other silver
mine in the world. The mines have
/; recently been equipped with modern
machinery. and long railroad has
| been built to connect them with the
| Smelter at AntOfagasta. Those mines
were discovered in the nineteenth
century by a poor Spaniard, who for
| twenty years had hunted for silver
and gold and had found none. AZ
the story goes, he was considered
and was laughed and Sneered at by all
but the Indians, to whom he was
shown him by an ETAOIN SHRDLJ.
kind The Huanchaca mine was
shown him by an Indian woman IS 3
reward for his kindness during her
! illness, and as a result he died a rich
, man. More silver was taken out after
. his death, and the total product has
now eQualed about $125,OOO,0OO. The
mines are still yielding. They employ
altogether about 5000 workmen, in
Guiding 1000 women, who are en-
, gagged in sorting the ores.
, During my stay in CerrO de PaScO
, heard much about the vanadium de-
: posits that lie on the tops Of the
, Andes. only few miles from the
American smelter, known as L.
, Fundieion. The mines belong to the
) Vanadium Trust Company, which,
am told here, is a branch of the
' controls the product and uses it fol
l making vanadium steel. The chic
E mine was originally owned by ar
! Italian, named Fernandini, who still
: holds large interest. 1t has mad
Fernandini rich, and he is now buy
v ing haciendas here and there in th'
: Andes and breeding fine stock
r This vanadium occurs in car
8 bOnaceOus deposit, interstratified will
: sandstone. The lower portion of tn
g stone contains or 3 per cent Q
t vanadium The ore is roasted befor
s and the metal is shipped to Pitts
S burgh. 1t is not sold in bulk, but
kept by the company for the making
OF steel Only SO much is mined. tn
d output being regulated by the de
q mand
n The Andes are peppered with gol
l. from one end to the other. Pizarr
It carried away from them 500, 900. 90
: worth of that metal and there Wer
# other millions which he failed to ge
e Among the latter were the lost treas
v ureS of the InCaS | have already de
lie scribed, including the gold plate
le that they tore from their temples
IF CuzcO and the mighty gold chai
d they threw into Lake Urcos. 1t
h said that there is gold mixed with tn
IF sands of Lake Titicaca. 1t is still be
5e ing washed from the sands near L
ia PaZ and it is found in greater
lg less quantities along almost all til
Of tributaries of the Amazon "A pro:
pector tells me that the whole mour
Il tain range, running from Mour
S. Sorati to Mount Illimani, a dfstane