Editing Andes (section)

===Mining===
[[File:Huasos Maulinos - Rugendas.jpg|thumb|left|Chilean [[huaso]]s, 19th century]]
The Andes rose to fame for their mineral wealth during the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish conquest of South America]]. Although Andean Amerindian peoples crafted ceremonial jewelry of gold and other metals, the [[Mineralization (geology)|mineralizations]] of the Andes were first mined on a large scale after the Spanish arrival. [[Potosí]] in present-day [[Bolivia]] and [[Cerro de Pasco]] in Peru were among the principal mines of the Spanish Empire in the New World. [[Río de la Plata]] and [[Argentina]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.argentine-embassy-uk.org/docs_eng/links/links_information_argentina.shtml |title=Information on Argentina |website=Argentine Embassy London}}</ref> derive their names from the silver of Potosí.

Currently, mining in the Andes of [[Chile]] and [[Peru]] places these countries as the first and second major producers of [[copper]] in the world. [[Peru]] also contains the 4th-largest goldmine in the world: the [[Yanacocha]]. The Bolivian Andes principally produce [[tin]], although historically silver mining had a huge impact on the [[Price revolution|economy]] of 17th-century Europe.{{fact|date=May 2025}} In Chile in the higher portions of the Andes there are only mining districs dominated by large-scale mining, while medium and small-scale mining is more common at lower altitudes.<ref>{{Cite report |title=Distritos productivos para el desarrollo de la minería chilena |url=https://www.sonami.cl/v2/publicaciones/distritos-productivos-desarrollo-mineria-chilena/ |trans-title=Productive districts for the development of mining in Chile|language=es |year=2025 |publisher=[[Sociedad Nacional de Minería|Centro de Estudios y Documentación Mineros de SONAMI]].}}</ref>

There is a long history of mining in the Andes, from the Spanish [[silver]] [[Mining|mines]] in [[Potosí]] in the 16th century to the vast current [[porphyry copper deposit]]s of [[Chuquicamata]] and [[Escondida]] in Chile and [[Toquepala mine|Toquepala]] in Peru. Other metals, including iron, gold, and tin, in addition to non-metallic resources are important. The Andes have a vast supply of lithium; Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile have the three largest reserves in the world respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lithium: What Role Does Tesla Play In The Demand For This Precious Metal? - Commodity.com |url=https://commodity.com/precious-metals/lithium/ |access-date=2023-03-09 |website=commodity.com |language=en-US}}</ref>