Panama to Patagonia

by Charles M. Pepper

The city of La Paz lies in the gold gulch of the river Chuquiyupu. This is an Aymará name, meaning inheritance of gold.

The second gold-producing region, generally called the Chuquisaca, commences at Atacama and Lipez on the border of Chile, and runs through the southern section of the district of Chayanta, Sur Chichas, Mendez or Tarija, and Chuquisaca, extending to the plains of Santa Cruz. The best-known placers are in the bed of San Juan River, known as the Gold River of St. John. A large amount of money is invested in dredging machinery for the exploitation of this river. In the Province of Chayanta many gold-mining claims have been filed, but few are worked.

The third auriferous region, and the one believed to be the richest, is in the far north of the Republic, along the limits of Peru, and following the watercourses of the Madre de Dios, the Acre, and the Purus Rivers. As this zone is occupied entirely by savages, its wealth of gold has not been exploited and is more or less fabulous.

The gold production of Bolivia which is accounted for is very small, though the calculation of Humboldt and others is that from 1540 to 1750 it amounted to £420,000,000. No reliable statistics regarding present production are obtainable, for, notwithstanding the very light export duty, which is 20 cents per ounce, there is reason to believe that full reports are not made by the mines. In 1901 the output of which the government had account was 550 kilograms, and in 1902, 580 kilograms.

In the production of bismuth Bolivia claims to lead the world. The King of Saxony takes the product in order to protect his own monopoly. The geological formation and the geographical distribution of bismuth follow the same direction as tin, the deposits being in the transverse folds of the eastern slope of the Andes. It is found mixed with the veins of tin and silver, and occasionally it is encountered in the native state. The tin and silver beds of Chorolque contain bismuth. The deposits in this district have sulphurs of copper and iron which are easily separated. The most recent discoveries have been in the Province of Inquisivi. The production in 1901 was 4,925 metric quintals; in 1902, 3,450. The value the latter year was about $350,000. The government imposes a very slight export duty.

Among the mineral substances not metallic, which Bolivia counts as a source of wealth, is borax. The chief deposits are situated in the Province of Carangas, in the Department of Oruro. The principal field there is the Chilcaya, which has an extent of 30,000 acres. The Chilcaya borax is said to be of the best quality, with 47 per cent water. Its exploitation is quite primitive. Chilcaya is 120 miles from Arica, which is the export port for it.

Geologically, and in general terms, the carboniferous zone is described as extending south toward the Pilcomayo. Bituminous coal and petroleum exist, but their commercial possibilities have not been established. Petroleum is found in the peninsula of Copacabana and other points along the shores of Lake Titicaca, but these deposits are not important. Coal veins of uncertain value exist in the northern chains of the Cordilleras, extending from the Tinchi River to the border of Peru. In the Province of Caupolican the crude petroleum is used by the local population.

Coal and petroleum also are found in some districts of Tarija, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz. An analysis was made in 1904 by the French geologists, under direction of the government, of the coal beds in the Chimoré and Apilla-pampa districts. It showed for the Chimoré samples volatile substances, 24 per cent; carbon, 47.5 per cent; ash, 28.5 per cent. In the Apilla-pampa specimens an appreciable quantity of sulphur was found. Specimens from both districts burned well, although not free from slate. Preference was given the Chimoré coal as containing a greater quantity of coke and volatile substances. It was declared to be capable of utilization in industries and particularly in the production of gas. Since the central plateau and the most thickly populated regions are above the timber line, and recourse has to be had to the llama droppings for fuel, if further exploitation of the Chimoré region shows the presence of coal in large quantities, it will be a decided economic gain to the country. But the indications do not favor it.

As regards tropical agriculture, Bolivia is also similar to Mexico. Rubber was a great fount of prospective income until the value was compounded in the form of a cash indemnity of $10,000,000 from Brazil, when all title to the Acre territory was yielded. But there are other regions yet left, and Bolivia may still look upon rubber as a source of national wealth. She retains some gum forests in the Madre de Dios zone, which has its outlet through Villa Bella at the confluence of the Beni and Mamoré Rivers, and which includes the Madidi, Orton, upper and lower Beni, and Manuripi Rivers. Another region is comprehended in the districts of Chalanna, Songo, Mapiri, Huanay, Coroico, and a part of the Province of Caupolican. This district has its outlet through Puerto Perez on Lake Titicaca. Its rubber product already is exploited to a fair degree. The Germans have large interests in this region.

A district which is practically unexploited is in the northern and eastern part of the Department of Santa Cruz, formed by the provinces of the Velasco and Magdalena, and bordering on the Brazilian State of Matto Grosso. The gum forests here are along the rivers Paraguay and Verde. They are very remote and practically unexploited, but in time undoubtedly they will be opened up. In the region of Yuracares, in the Department of Cochabamba, there is also a species of rubber tree.