In the Mantaro river basin, located in Central Peru, an agricultural activity developed, even supplying the capital of Peru. An intense mining activity took place in the headwaters of this basin, and the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex was built a century ago. Mining activity has left mining environmental liabilities, which directly impact the quality of the water and the soil. In this sense, it is very important to investigate the presence of heavy metals and identify the geochemical associations present in surface waters to assess the real impact on the environment. For this purpose, 30 water samples were analyzed, collected from the Mantaro River and the channels that derive water for irrigation and animal consumption. The samples were analyzed by ICP-MS techniques, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, and ICP-AES, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. For ...