Cerro Rico, literally meaning a rich mountain in Spanish is a mountain name in the Andes mountain ranges in Bolivia in South America. The richness of the mountain attracted miners in the 16th century which eventually led to the development of a human settlement around the first identified mining area on the site while also becoming one of the highest human settlements on E

arth located geographically at an elevation of over 4,000 metres. It became a major supply medium for silver for Spain during the establishment of the New World Spanish Empire and population

200,000 before Bolivia got its independence in 1825. During those times, a Spanish phrase ‘vale un Potosi’ became one of the most used phrases of the settlement which means ‘to be of great value’ which later on became the identity of the settlement till date as Potosi which was once the world’s

industrial complex in the 16th century. The population went down to as low as 10,000 after the nation's independence due to the exhaustion of the silver ores of the mountain which at once contained upto 40 % silver in the previous couple of centuries.