In the mid-1500s mining towns sprung up in mexico and south america where the spaniards were looking for
a. gold
c. copper
b. silver
d. aluminum

Gold

on the new continent for centuries, colonists came in droves. from king received priority task - finding the sources of gold on the continent. spaniards establish gold mines. only few  mines operated in america before 1550, produced only 330 tons of gold.   production has evolved, when around 1550 invention more developed chemical extraction method, which allowed for the separation of useless metal residues and also to avoid all strenuous processes of breaking and purification. this new technique of addition of mercury salt and copper sulfate stimulated production.