Cerro de Pasco, town, central Peru, capital of Pasco Department, about 4265 m (about 14,000 ft) above sea level. It is connected by rail with Lima. The town was once noted as one of the world's richest silver-mining centers but is more important now for the mining of copper, which began here in the early 20th century under the management of the Cerro de Pasco Corporation, a U.S.-controlled firm. Gold, lead, zinc, and bismuth are also mined at Cerro de Pasco; the valuable silver deposits were exhausted by the Spanish. Copper is smelted in one of the largest metallurgical plants in the world, in La Oroya, south of Cerro de Pasco. The city has been relocated a short distance from its original site. Population (1998 estimate) 70,058.
