34 35 cerro de pasco The greatest investment of the XXth century Once the deal had been sealed and money changed hands, there was no going back. McCune himself, as operator of the mining syndicate, returned to Peru to deliver on the offer he had made to the landowners a year earlier. The first one to willingly accept the offer was the British miner George Edward Steel. He was followed by Elias Malpartida (who had been elected to Congress on several occasions, was a former mayor of Lima, Minister of Finance under president Candamo and Prime Minister under president Billinghurst). After him, the agreement was signed by Felipe Salomon Tello –a pioneer of the electrical power generation industry in Peru– who sold the Toril and Tajo Santa Catalina mines. The Languasco family, of Italian origin, followed suit, as did Ignacio Alania, Matilde Push de Villaran, Herminio Perez, the Gallo brothers, Romualdo Palomino and the Ortiz family, among others. The highest priced property to be sold on that first visit was the one belonging to Miguel Gallo Diaz, for which 100,000 pounds sterling were paid. However, not everyone agreed to sell. Among those who kept part or all of their properties were Mr. Eulogio Fernandini de la Quintana, owner of Colquijirca, who was already operating the Huaracaca smelter, the Lercari brothers, the Alania brothers, the Arrieta brothers, Tomas Chamorro, Juan Azalia, the Proaño family, Mr. Elías Malpartida himself, Toribio Lopez, Alfredo Palacios, Mr. Agustín Arias Carracedo and Antonio Xammar, among others, almost all of whom combined agricultural, commercial and mining interests. The U.S. investors also shared the area with Compagnie des Mines de Huaron, a majority French-owned mining complex located in the district of Huallay, and with the Backus & Johnston Company, which would divest its small mines in Cerro de Pasco and remain with Casapalca, located in the Lima highlands. Within a decade the Cerro de Pasco Corporation would rapidly acquire 80% of the mining estates in the area, equivalent to some 70,000 hectares. The early migration of people of different nationalities, attracted by the mineral wealth of these highlands, would already contrast the cultural and educational gaps between them and the communities inhabiting the Andes since ancient times. Because of this, the immigrants would more fully assimilate the great changes that were about to take place in the region, since in those days Cerro de Pasco resembled more a small village than a city. Before the arrival of the company, the thatched houses extended their way to the heavens and often fell victim to fires caused by bolts of lightning or improvised electrical connections that were becoming popular in the town. Slowly the roofs thatched with ichu grass were replaced by galvanised iron roofing also referred to as corrugated iron. The streets were narrow, shiny and cobblestoned, with a cement gutter in the centre for the water from the frequent rains to drain across and the pack animals to avoid with their tired gait. However, this rustic setting contrasted with other, cosmopolitan features. In the superb work by Neydo Hidalgo, a historian specialising in Peru’s electrical heritage, who published on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the La Oroya Hydroelectric plant, he mentions the presence in 1910 of Frank Carpenter, a journalist invited to visit the region and the company installations Many houses in the small city were still made of stone, with thatched roofs and prone to fires. This is why corrugated metal roofs began to be used. CIRCUIT CLOSED The operation of the Cerro de Pasco Mining Co. demanded the connection of the mines via railways, the availability of reliable power sources and labour. However, they never thought the culture shock would be so great.
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