Cerro de San Pedro is a village and seat of the

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Cerro de San Pedro, located in the state of

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

in central

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It is located in hills, northeast of the city of San Luis Potosí. , the population was 95. The townsite is now threatened by the new and adjacent open pit gold mining operations.MICLA: Minera San Xavier (MSX) Cerro de San Pedro open pit mine history
McGill University Research Group Investigating Canadian Mining in Latin America (MICLA) 2014 Report; accessed 7.27.2015

Location

The village is located in the central part of the state, at above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. The village borders

Soledad de Graciano Sánchez Soledad de Graciano Sánchez, formerly Soledad Diez Gutiérrez, is the second-largest city of the state of San Luis Potosí in Mexico. It lies adjacent to the east side of the state's capital city of San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, San Luis P ...

on the north and west,

Armadillo de los Infante Armadillo de los Infante is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí in central Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bo ...

on the east, and San Luis Potosí city on the southwest, and Villa de Zaragoza on the south. The co-ordinates of the center of the village are 100° 49’ west

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...

and 22° 13’ north

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

History

The hills were in the homelands of the indigenous Chichimeca people and

Guachichil people The Guachichil, Cuauchichil, or Quauhchichitl, are an Indigenous people of Mexico. Pre-contact, they occupied the most extensive territory of all the indigenous Chichimeca Nations tribes in pre-Columbian Central Mexico. The Guachichiles roamed t ...

during the

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

era. The village started as a Spanish colonial mining settlement for gold and silver, and was formally established in 1592. FAO—Fruente Amplio Opisitor: Cerro de San Pedro Historia
. accessed 7.17.2015 (Spanish). It was the founding settlement of the state, and a symbol of its mineral rich hill is prominent in the state's coat of arms. Unfortunately, the hill has disappeared in the 2010s, as a result of the new opencast mine consuming its mass and site.

Mining history

In 1592 padre Diego de la Magdalena met with some of the Guachichil peoples in the pueblo of Mesquitique. Among them was one man named ''Cualiname'' or ''Gualiname'', who brought attention to the golden outlines in their face paintings. The missionary asked him where he had obtained this pigment, and was told there was much of the powder to the east of Mesquitique. Magdalena told Padre Francisco Franco about this discovery, who then told Captain

Miguel Caldera Miguel Caldera (1548–1597) was an important figure in the colonization of Mexico's northern frontier immediately following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Early life Caldera was the illegitimate son of a Castilian soldier named Pedro C ...

, who took possession of the place from the

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

for the

Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Amer ...

. Captain Caldera sent Gregorio de León, Juan de la Torre, and Pedro de Anda to verify the existence of the minerals. The latter named the locality San Pedro del Potosí, to honor his namesake saint and in memory of the famous mines of the Potosí in

Alto Perú Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...

of the

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed from ...

, in present-day Bolivia. Gold and silver were found in and around the hills of San Pedro, but there was not enough local water to support mining operations. The nearest water source was to the north in the homelands of the

Chichimeca Chichimeca () is the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were established in present-day Bajio region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" that des ...

people. Hindrances were overcome by 1624, and the mines were rich producers of gold and silver for centuries. The

Mesoamerican Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. Withi ...

historian Primo Feliciano Velázquez y Basalenque included extensive descriptions of the Cerro de San Pedro area in his accounts.

Mines

Historic gold and silver mines in the Cerro de San Pedro District include: *Mina La Descubridora *Mina San Pedro Celestial *Mina Bisnagas *Mina Barreno *Mina Socavon Aventurero *Mina la Victoria, *Mina 5 de Mayo *Mina San Pedro el Alto *Mina San Pedro el Bajo *Mina Catillas (located on

Bufa Hill Bufa Hill or El Cerro de la Bufa is a hill found east of historic downtown Zacatecas City, Zacatecas, Mexico, of historic and cultural significance in the Zacatecas state. Name The origin of Bufa Hill's name is disputed. What is, perhaps, the b ...

) *Mina Begonia *Mina Socavon del Rey *Mina Dorotea *Mina La Encantada *Mina La Flor *Tiro San Pedro *Tiro Juarez *Mina Cañon de las Mulas *Mina Salon Colorado

Main shafts

*San Pedro shaft *Juarez shaft *Begonia shaft

Contemporary mining

In the 20th century the mines were operated by several companies, including the Metalúrgica Mexicana subsidiary of

American Smelting and Refining Company Asarco LLC (American Smelting and Refining Company) is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in Tucson, Arizona, which mines and processes primarily copper. The company has been a subsidiary of Grupo México since 1999. Its three large ...

(ASARCO) beginning in 1928. A

miners' strike Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also * List of strikes References {{Reflist Miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are tw ...

occurred in 1948 for improved conditions and pay, but the miners lost. ASARCO decided to leave, but not before destructively collapsing the main shafts and tunnels, though the mines were never declared exhausted. Canadian mining company

Metallica Resources Metallica Resources Inc. was a Canadian-based mineral and gold mining company. Metallica Resources was a publicly held Canadian mineral exploration and development company with a geographic focus in the Americas. The company had an ownership inte ...

acquired the mines in the latter 20th century. The mines were acquired by Canadian

New Gold Inc. New Gold Inc. is a Canadian mining company that owns and operates the New Afton gold-silver-copper mine in British Columbia and the Rainy River gold-silver mine in Ontario, Canada. Through a Mexican subsidiary company, they also own the Cerro San ...

, through the Mexican subsidiary

Minera San Xavier Minera San Xavier is a subsidiary of the Canadian company New Gold Inc. that operates a gold and silver mine near Cerro de San Pedro, a municipality of San Luis Potosí just 12 kilometers away from the capital city of the state. The city of San L ...

(MSX), from Metallica Resources in 1997.

Open pit mine

In 1999, after notable local and national opposition and assassinated opponents, the Cerro de San Pedro Mine was restarted for gold mining by New Gold/MSX, though as an

open pit mine Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of mining ...

instead of using underground methods.Jaime Aviles, “Minera San Xavier, catastrofe para SLP”, La Jornada
November 14, 2011. There was/is significant opposition because the open pit would be/is in an area that was declared an area of colonial monuments in 1972 as well as a wildlife preservation zone in 1993. In 1997, MSX had received an authorization from local authorities to start the mining project.Metrostudies.berkeley.edu: “Cerro de San Pedro: Grass Roots Movements in Cooperation and Conflict to Stop a Living City from Disappearing”
; by Jose G. Vargas-Hernandez; paper presented at the Seventh International Critical Management Studies Conference, Naples Italy, 14–16 July 2011. In 1999, the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) granted MSX an environmental permit to conduct mining operations. After MSX was granted the mining permits, an ongoing legal struggle between MSX and diverse groups opposing the project started (est. 2003). Explosion 1

In March 2004, the Unitary Agrarian Tribunal rejected the lease MSX had been using since 1999 to operate in ''ejidal'' lands because they had used falsified signatures. Then in 2004, the National Defense Secretariat gave MSX authorization to use of explosives, which violated a previous decree issued by the Second District Court. Then in 2004, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) presented a lawsuit against MSX, stating that historical monuments had been damaged by the new use of explosives. The nearby central historic district of the city of San Luis de Potosí is part of a UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. Finally in 2004, the Supreme Tribunal of Fiscal and Administrative Justice cancelled the environmental permit granted to MSX by the SEMARNAT in 1999, ruling that a permit never should have been granted. MSX requested an appeal and continued to operate. In 2005 the appeal was rejected and the Supreme Tribunal ratified the cancellation of the environmental permit. The mine was closed. In 2006, after president

Vicente Fox Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006. After campaigning as a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Fox was elec ...

publicly announced his support for MSX, the Mexican government granted them a new environmental permit. In 2010 the Supreme Tribunal nullified the permit granted to MSX in 2006 and the Environment Federal Agency (PROFEPA) closed the mine for the second time.Environmental Justice Atlas.org: “Cerro de San Pedro mine, San Luis Potosí, México”
by Patricia Chavez; October 28, 2014.MiningWatch.ca: "Canadian Company Accused of Disobeying Court, Misleading Shareholders - Citizens’ group argues New Gold violated disclosure rules in a complaint lodged with BC Securities Commission"
; 10 November 2009. In September 2009 the Mexican Federal Tribunal of Administrative and Fiscal Justice unequivocally declared the 2006 environmental Change of Land Use permit necessary to operate the mine “null and void.". In a November 2009 press release,
__April_20,_2013.

_Cerro_de_San_Pedro_Municipality

_Towns

The_villages_and_colonias_in_the_Cerro_de_San_Pedro_Municipality_include: *_Cerro_de_San_Pedro_(''Cabecera_Municipal'',_municipal_seat) *_Portezuelo *_Real_del_Potosi *_Monte_De_Caldera *_Cuesta_de_Campa *_La_Zapatilla *_Divisadero *_Calderon *_Jesus_Maria *_Joyita_de_la_Cruz *_La_Florida *_Granjas_de_San_Pedro *_Granjas_de_la_Florida *_Planta_del_Carmen

__References_

_Bibliography

Upsidedownworld.org:_“Canadian_Mining_Crimes_in_Mexico”
_by_Juan_Carlos_Ruiz_Guadalajara;_July_21,_2010.

_April_20,_2013. {{San_Luis_Potosí.html" ;"title=" MSX−New Gold Inc: 2 November press release MSX misinformed the shareholders and public it had filed an appeal. In late 2010 the SEMARNAT issued MSX a new permit, despite strong local opposition, and the mine began operating again. 25 tons of explosives are detonated daily, and the namesake hill, Cerro de San Pedro, no longer exists.
April 20, 2013.

Cerro de San Pedro Municipality

Towns

The villages and colonias in the Cerro de San Pedro Municipality include: * Cerro de San Pedro (''Cabecera Municipal'', municipal seat) * Portezuelo * Real del Potosi * Monte De Caldera * Cuesta de Campa * La Zapatilla * Divisadero * Calderon * Jesus Maria * Joyita de la Cruz * La Florida * Granjas de San Pedro * Granjas de la Florida * Planta del Carmen

References

Bibliography

Upsidedownworld.org: “Canadian Mining Crimes in Mexico”
by Juan Carlos Ruiz Guadalajara; July 21, 2010.

April 20, 2013. {{San Luis Potosí">state=collapsed Gold mines in Mexico Silver mines in Mexico History of San Luis Potosí Mining communities in Mexico Mining disasters in Mexico Municipalities of San Luis Potosí 1583 in New Spain 1592 establishments in New Spain 1592 in New Spain Populated places established in 1592 Silver mining in the Spanish Empire