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Mining processes in the Americas

Relatively simple mining and processing techniques of the Incas and other indigenous people dominated American silver mining for the early part of the 16th century. However, mining in the Americas became reliant on mercury amalgamation after it was developed and popularized in the mid-16th century. Mercury amalgamation dramatically increased the volume of silver production in the Americas, giving way to silver's central role in American economies and the burgeoning global economy. From 1575 to 1590, the use of amalgamation multiplied the output of Potosí, the most prominent Andean silver mine, by six. The presence of mercury at Huancavelica coupled with the abundance of cheap labor supplied by the rotational labor system mita made this intense production possible. Mercury amalgamation was invented by a Spaniard in central Mexico in the 1550s. Historians dispute which individual was the first to invent the process, but most agree that it was a Spaniard. Mercury represented one of the highest costs of production for the Americas, since much of it had to be shipped from Almadén in Spain. The ratio of mercury to silver produced was about two to one. Furthermore, German miners introduced the stamp mill and lead smelting in the 1530s. Gunpowder was often used to blast large holes to create the mine shafts, although there were not many deep shafts. Potosí had the most ore, however it was lower quality than that of Mexico.