Editing Andes (section)

===Ore deposits and evaporites===
The Andes Mountains host large [[ore]] and [[salt]] deposits, and some of their eastern [[fold and thrust belt]]s act as traps for commercially exploitable amounts of [[hydrocarbon]]s. In the forelands of the [[Atacama Desert]], some of the largest [[porphyry copper]] mineralizations occur, making Chile and Peru the first- and second-largest exporters of [[copper]] in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trade Map - List of exporters for the selected product in 2023 (Copper ores and concentrates) |url=https://www.trademap.org/Country_SelProduct.aspx?nvpm=1%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C2603%7C%7C%7C4%7C1%7C1%7C2%7C1%7C%7C2%7C1%7C1%7C1&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=www.trademap.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Robb |first=Laurence |title=Introduction to Ore-Forming Processes |edition=4th |year=2007 |publisher=[[Blackwell Science]] Ltd |location=[[Malden, MA]], United States  |isbn=978-0-632-06378-9 |page=104 }}</ref> Porphyry copper in the western slopes of the Andes has been generated by [[hydrothermal fluid]]s (mostly water) during the cooling of [[pluton (geology)|plutons]] or volcanic systems. The porphyry mineralization further benefited from the dry climate that reduced the disturbing actions of [[meteoric water]]. The dry climate in the central western Andes has also led to the creation of extensive [[Chile saltpeter|saltpeter deposits]] that were extensively mined until the invention of synthetic [[nitrate]]s. Yet another result of the dry climate are the [[Dry lake|salars]] of [[Salar de Atacama|Atacama]] and [[Salar de Uyuni|Uyuni]], the former being the largest source of [[lithium]] and the latter the world's largest reserve of the element.{{fact|date=March 2025}} Early Mesozoic and [[Neogene]] plutonism in Bolivia's Cordillera Central created the [[Bolivian tin belt]] as well as the famous, now mostly depleted, silver deposits of [[Cerro Rico|Cerro Rico de Potosí]].