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Guanajuato is a rich town. It's got beautiful government buildings, markets, a university with a symphony orchestra, 2 theatres and much more. And here's where all that wealth came from.

Even before the Spanish arrived the Aztecs were mining gold and silver in the hills around here. The Spanish stepped things up a notch with mines in operation from the 17th to the 20th centuries. At one point Guanajuato was producing ²⁄₃ of the world's silver.

This mine has been closed for decades but others nearby are still going. Copper, titanium and silicon are also mined here. The latter being considered, until the computer age and the need for semi-conductors, just another worthless material encountered in the search for more precious metals.