Mestizo Uruguay has overwhelmingly become white and European (some Middle Eastern) in culture and tradition. Because of this, the term mestizo has fallen into disuse. Northern Argentina still has a predominately mestizo population, especially in the provinces of Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Catamarca, La Rioja, San Juan, Mendoza, Chaco, Formosa, Corrientes, Santa Fe and Misiones, where there is also a significant population of Indigenous peoples. In Chile, from the time the Spanish soldiers with Pedro de Valdivia entered northern Chile, a process of 'mestizaje' began where white Spaniards began to mate with the local bellicose Mapuche population of Amerindians
Catamarca Province San Francisco pass and mules were bred for the Bolivian market in the 1910s. Mining was important in the past. After becoming less active in the early 1990s, grew to now account for over 20% of the economy. Catamarca is home to one of the largest copper gold mines in the world, Bajo de la Alumbrera, which produces approximately 600,000 ounces of gold and 190,000 tonnes of copper annually. The mine employs over 1,000 people and contributes hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes and royalties to the federal and provincial governments. The agriculture of Catamarca focuses on wood (walnut),