187 5. Access and transport Transportation services for visitors to the nearest city and to the mine, with support from travel agencies or other operators. Access routes, transportation, signage, trained guides, safety protocols, maintenance, and monitoring. Source: Prepared by the author. 6.4 Case of the Santa Bárbara Mine The old Santa Bárbara mine, located in Huancavelica very close to its capital city, has a tradition dating back to the Viceroyalty period, which was even inscribed as the Santa Bárbara Mining Complex on the Tentative List of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention of 1972, as a cultural asset under criteria C (ii) and (iv) in 2017. It is an exceptional center for the exchange of knowledge and technological innovation in mining worldwide for the transformation of mercury distillation techniques, which influenced the production of mercury in the mines of America and Europe during the 18th to 20th centuries. Figure 4 show views of its facilities. Figure 4 - Views of the old Santa Bárbara mine from the outside and inside. a) Surface infrastructure of the mining complex. b) Furnaces for ore and mercury distillation. To date, this surface and underground mining complex constitutes the "Santa Bárbara Mining Environmental Liability" and has a Liability Closure Plan in accordance with current national regulations. In addition, the Regional Government of Huancavelica, as part of the Interinstitutional Cooperation Agreement together with other authorities in the region, as well as the Congress of the Republic, has been making efforts in recent years to have this mining complex recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, which, if achieved, would further promote it nationally and internationally for mining tourism. 6.5 Other Cases In addition to mining-related environmental liabilities, the country is home to large-scale mining operations run by transnational corporations that offer open or technical tours. These initiatives could be gradually expanded to include tourist visits coordinated with the relevant tourism sector authorities, provided that safety, accessibility, and environmental management standards are ensured. Likewise, the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers (IIMP) runs the b ) a )
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