The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1865, but it was revived with the discovery of ore in Caracoles.
In 1874, the owners of the newly discovered silver mines at Caracoles, Bolivia, gave Cuadra the general superintendence of the works, and in 1876 he was appointed president of the Bank of Valparaiso.
He published a book on the subject, 100 Caracoles Argentinos, co-written with the naturalist Tito Narosky.