La Rinconada, Peru


La Rinconada is a town in the Peruvian Andes near a gold mine. At above sea level, it is the highest permanent settlement in the world. Between 2001 and 2009, the population was estimated by National Geographic to have increased to 30,000 people from just a small gold prospector camp because the price of gold rose 235% over that period, although this number has not been reflected by the 2007 census or 2017 census.

Geography

Topography

The town is in the Ananea District, San Antonio de Putina Province. The town lies at a height of above sea level, on the side of Mount Ananea and at the foot of glacier called Auchita, otherwise known as La Bella Durmiente. Some successful miners in La Rinconada have homes in Juliaca, which has municipal services and is only above sea level.

Economy and infrastructure

The economy is mainly based on the production of gold from nearby gold mines, many artisanal.
Many miners work at the gold mine owned by Corporación Ananea. Under the cachorreo system they work for 30 days without payment. On the 31st day they are allowed to take with them as much ore as they can carry on their shoulders. Whether the ore contains any gold or not is a matter of luck. Pocketing of nuggets or promising chunks of rich ore is tolerated. Women are banned from the mines, but pallaqueras can be seen working through rock on the mine dumps.
Inca Manco Cápac International Airport is the nearest commercial airport; it is in Juliaca.

Environmental issues

The town lacks plumbing and sanitation systems. Hypoxia is a significant health problem due to the low oxygen level of the high altitude. There is also significant contamination by mercury, due to the mining practices. Local miners refine the ore by grinding and treating it with mercury and pressing the mass through a cloth to filter it. The resulting amalgam is heated, to remove the mercury.

Climate

High in the Andes, La Rinconada has an alpine tundra climate, with no month having mean temperatures even close to the threshold that would permit tree growth and a subtropical highland classification for the city. Far above the tree line, La Rinconada is unique in its high elevation and population, with the highest city of comparable population being over closer to sea level.
Owing to the extreme elevation of the town, climatic conditions more closely resemble that of the west coast of Greenland than somewhere only 14° from the equator. The town has rainy summers and dry winters with a large diurnal variation seeing cool to cold days and freezing night time temperatures throughout the year, with snowfalls common. The average annual temperature in La Rinconada is and the average annual precipitation is.