Invention and Innovation in the Altiplano of the Andes, 1587-1620: The Roots of Legacy Mercury in our Environment?
Of the six refining recipes for silver ores implemented on an industrial scale prior to the end of the 19c, three were the product of an extremely fruitful period of invention and innovation that took place around Potosi, in present day Bolivia, during the two decades that span the turn of the 16th century. Without these breakthroughs in the use of mercury, the environmental toll of relying on lead to refine silver ores would have been much worse, yet the question remains of their impact on present day levels of legacy mercury in our environment.