Abstract
This paper focuses on the smelting technologies at the Potosí Mine, which was the first successful venture in the industrialization of silver amalgamation during colonial Spanish rule. We demonstrate key technologies found in historical documents, from the perspective of scientific knowledge. In 1572, Francisco de Toledo, the fifth Spanish viceroy, introduced a new method of smelting silver ore, an amalgamation process involving the use of mercury with which he intended to propel the recovery of silver from tailings that had stockpiled around the Potosí mine during the traditional mining period. Recovery reached about 2 million pesos of silver reclaimed from the tailings. Following the application of his new method, a total of 2000 quinales of mercury was recycled annually from abandoned and contaminated soils during water-washing of the amalgamating products. As a result of Spanish colonization, various pollutants affected the area around Potosí In particular, soil contamination in the Pilcomayo River gives evidence of the lingering effects of Spanish colonization right up to modern times.
