A shaft that once produced most of the world’s silver
The mother vein of Guanajuato was found in 1548, but La Valenciana, six kilometres from the historic centre, came into its own between 1768 and 1804, and at its height was producing about 60 percent of the world’s silver and two thirds of all the silver in New Spain. It was built on borrowed money: the young Antonio de Obregón y Alcocer took a loan from Pedro Luciano Otero, a merchant of the Rayas mine, and the two of them kept investing until production took off in 1768. The church of San Cayetano beside the shaft was built out of the proceeds and is one of the most extravagant churrigueresque interiors in Mexico. The mine is part of the Guanajuato World Heritage listing, is still worked by a cooperative to about 760 metres, and the old shaft house is open to visitors.
Guanajuato, Mexico
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