Traditional metal working in Mexico one in silver, which represented the sun and moon respectively. The existence of gold and silver in Mexico was one of the main attractions for the Spanish in the New World, with the conquest of the Aztec Empire and subsequent exploration with the aim of finding more of these precious metals. Mining and metal working became a main aspect of the economy of colonial Mexico. Most of the emphasis was on the mining of gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, platinum and tin with much of the metal, especially gold, shipped to Spain. Initially, the working of metals in the new
Native metal brass, bronze, pewter, German silver, osmiridium, electrum, white gold, and silver-mercury and gold-mercury amalgam. Only gold, silver, copper and the platinum metals occur in nature in large amounts. Over geological time scales, very few metals can resist natural weathering processes like oxidation, which is why generally only the less reactive metals such as gold and platinum are found as native metals. The others usually occur as isolated pockets where a natural chemical process reduces a common compound or ore of the metal, leaving the pure metal behind as small flakes or inclusions. Non-metallic elements occurring in the native state include