|
Los Pelambres Mine
Los Pelambres mine is a copper mine located in the north-central of Chile in Coquimbo Region. It is one of the largest copper reserves in the world, having estimated reserves of 4.9 billion tonnes of ore grading 0.65% copper. The deposit was first recognized by Willian Burford Braden in 1920. Production in 2012 was forecast at 390 tons of copper and 28,000 ounces of gold. The mine is served by Los Pelambres Airport, and by a water desalination facility at Los Vilos. A billion-dollar expansion project is underway. Geology The Upper Miocene tonalite stock is a north-south oriented oval, 4.5 by 2.4 km in size, which has undergone hydrothermal alteration. The stock intruded into andesitic host rocks. Glaciation during the Pleistocene carved the U-shaped Los Pelambres valley. The head of the valley has the highest concentration of ore in a roche moutonnee. A core of potassium silicate alteration contains the economic copper-molybdenum mineralization. Sulfide minerals include cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coquimbo Region
The Coquimbo Region ( es, Región de Coquimbo, ) is one of Chile's 16 regions (first order administrative divisions). It is bordered by Atacama to the north, Valparaíso to the south, Argentina to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is approximately north of the national capital, Santiago. The capital and largest city is La Serena. Other important cities include the seaport Coquimbo and the agricultural centre Ovalle. Geography and ecology The Coquimbo Region forms the narrowest part, or 'waist' of Chile, and is hence one of the country's more mountainous regions, as the Andes range runs closer to the sea than elsewhere. The region has notable marine species as well as taxa that are associated with the mountainous regions. With respect to marine organisms, the upwelling areas encourage bioproductivity off of this Pacific Coast area of Chile. In the southern mountainous areas of the Coquimbo Region, the rare and endangered Chilean Wine Palm is found, whose ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sulfide Minerals
The sulfide minerals are a class of minerals containing sulfide (S2−) or disulfide (S22−) as the major anion. Some sulfide minerals are economically important as metal ores. The sulfide class also includes the selenides, the tellurides, the arsenides, the antimonides, the bismuthinides, the sulfarsenides and the sulfosalts.http://www.minerals.net/mineral/sort-met.hod/group/sulfgrp.htm Minerals.net Dana Classification, SulfidesKlein, Cornelis and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr., 1986, ''Manual of Mineralogy'', Wiley, 20th ed., pp 269-293 Sulfide minerals are inorganic compounds. Minerals Common or important examples include: * Acanthite *Chalcocite *Bornite *Galena *Sphalerite *Chalcopyrite *Pyrrhotite *Millerite *Pentlandite *Covellite *Cinnabar *Realgar *Orpiment *Stibnite *Pyrite *Marcasite *Molybdenite Sulfarsenides: *Cobaltite *Arsenopyrite *Gersdorffite Sulfosalts: *Pyrargyrite *Proustite *Tetrahedrite *Tennantite *Enargite *Bournonite *Jame ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Copper Mines In Chile
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orange color. Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material, and as a constituent of various metal alloys, such as sterling silver used in jewelry, cupronickel used to make marine hardware and coins, and constantan used in strain gauges and thermocouples for temperature measurement. Copper is one of the few metals that can occur in nature in a directly usable metallic form ( native metals). This led to very early human use in several regions, from circa 8000 BC. Thousands of years later, it was the first metal to be smelted from sulfide ores, circa 5000 BC; the first metal to be cast into a shape in a mold, c. 4000 BC; and the first metal to be purposely alloyed with another metal, tin, to create bronze, c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Copper Mines In Chile - 1
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orange color. Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material, and as a constituent of various metal alloys, such as sterling silver used in jewelry, cupronickel used to make marine hardware and coins, and constantan used in strain gauges and thermocouples for temperature measurement. Copper is one of the few metals that can occur in nature in a directly usable metallic form (native metals). This led to very early human use in several regions, from circa 8000 BC. Thousands of years later, it was the first metal to be smelted from sulfide ores, circa 5000 BC; the first metal to be cast into a shape in a mold, c. 4000 BC; and the first metal to be purposely alloyed with another metal, tin, to create bronze, c. 350 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escondida
Escondida is a copper mine at elevation in the Atacama Desert in Antofagasta Region, Chile. Geology The Escondida deposit is one of a cluster of porphyry coppers in an elongated area about 18 km north–south and 3 km east–west and is associated with the 600 km long West Fissure (''Falla Oeste'') system, which is in turn associated with most of the major Chilean porphyry deposits. A barren, leached cap, in places up to 300 metres thick, overlies a thick zone of high grade secondary supergene mineralisation of the main orebody, largely chalcocite and covellite, which in turn overlies the unaltered primary mineralisation of chalcopyrite, bornite and pyrite. Reserves At mid 2007, Escondida had total proven and probable reserves of 34.7 million tonnes of copper, of which 22.5 million tonnes is estimated to be recoverable. Total resources (including reserves) were 57.6 million tonnes of copper, of which 33.0 million tonnes should be recovered. Exploration contin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Potrerillos, Chile
Potrerillos is a ghost town in the interior of Atacama Region, Chile. Potrerillos became established as mining camp in the 1920s by Andes Copper Mining Company. There is an airport in the area, the Potrerillos Airport. Potrerillos Mine One of Chile's Gran Mineria, the copper porphyry mine was identified and developed by William Burford Braden. The mine was active from 1927 until 1959. Geology Located 12 km east of the Sierra del Castillo fault, the area consists of Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous marine and volcanic host rocks. During the Late Eocene, the Porfido Cobre intrusion induced Cu-Mo mineralization. The supergene oxidation zone "is dominated by malachite and azurite in and around the Porfido Cobre stock." Potrerillos Library In 1956, the people residing in Potrerillos, which consisted of mostly Americans, requested that the company Andes Copper Company approve a project for starting a library. The company approved the project and quickly a committee of c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
El Salvador Mine
El Salvador mine (The Savior) is a combined open pit and underground copper mine located in Chile and owned by the state owned copper mining company Codelco. The mine is located in the company town of El Salvador. The mine was originally built by The Anaconda Company in the late 1950s, but in 1971, with the nationalization of the copper industry in Chile, full ownership of the mine was turned over to the newly formed, state owned copper mining company Codelco. Codelco had planned to close the El Salvador mine in 2011, but extended the mine life by an additional 15–20 years. El Salvador operates as Codelco's smallest mine with the highest cash costs. History The El Salvador mine was developed by The Anaconda Company. Production at the mine began in 1959, and was intended to replace production of the company's Potrerillos mine, which would be closing due to a decline in ore quality. Production from the El Salvador would increase Chile's total output of copper about 450,000 tons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
El Teniente
El Teniente ("The Lieutenant") is an underground copper mine located in the Chilean Andes, above mean sea level. It is in the commune of Machalí in Cachapoal Province, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region, near the company town of Sewell. This was established for the workers and their families. Mining at El Teniente is reported to have started as early as 1819. In the early 20th century, two men from New York, United States set up a mining operation there, starting operations in 1906. Kennecott Copper Corporation, based in Utah, United States, later operated the mine through their subsidiary company. The Chilean government bought a 51% interest in the mine in 1967. Some 15,000 people lived in Sewell at its height as a company town. In 1971 Chile nationalized copper production under President Salvador Allende and formed the state-owned copper mining company Codelco. This company still operates the mine. Workers began to live in other areas. With over of undergrou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chuquicamata
Chuquicamata ( ; referred to as Chuqui for short) is the largest open pit copper mine in terms of excavated volume in the world. It is located in the north of Chile, just outside Calama, at above sea level. It is northeast of Antofagasta and north of the capital, Santiago. Flotation and smelting facilities were installed in 1952, and expansion of the refining facilities in 1968 made 500,000 tons annual copper production possible in the late 1970s. Previously part of Anaconda Copper, the mine is now owned and operated by Codelco, a Chilean state enterprise, since the Chilean nationalization of copper in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Its depth of makes it the second deepest open-pit mine in the world, after Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah, United States. Etymology There are several versions of the meaning of ''Chuquicamata''.''Cierre Cam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antofagasta PLC
Antofagasta plc is a Chilean multinational. It is one of the most important conglomerates of Chile with equity participation in ''Antofagasta Minerals'', the railroad from Antofagasta to Bolivia, Twin Metals in Minnesota and other exploration joint ventures in different parts from the world. Antofagasta is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The Group began life as ''Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia'', a business that was incorporated and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1888 with the objective of operating a railway between Antofagasta, a port on the Pacific Coast of Northern Chile, and La Paz, the capital City of Bolivia. In 1980, a majority the shares was acquired by the Grupo Luksic and the two businesses were subsequently integrated under the name ''Antofagasta Holdings''. During the 1980s, Antofagasta Holdings diversified into other areas such as mining in Michilla, in which it invested in 1983, and mining ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molybdenite
Molybdenite is a mineral of molybdenum disulfide, Mo S2. Similar in appearance and feel to graphite, molybdenite has a lubricating effect that is a consequence of its layered structure. The atomic structure consists of a sheet of molybdenum atoms sandwiched between sheets of sulfur atoms. The Mo-S bonds are strong, but the interaction between the sulfur atoms at the top and bottom of separate sandwich-like tri-layers is weak, resulting in easy slippage as well as cleavage planes. Molybdenite crystallizes in the hexagonal crystal system as the common polytype 2H and also in the trigonal system as the 3R polytype. Description Occurrence Molybdenite occurs in high temperature hydrothermal ore deposits. Its associated minerals include pyrite, chalcopyrite, quartz, anhydrite, fluorite, and scheelite. Important deposits include the disseminated porphyry molybdenum deposits at Questa, New Mexico and the Henderson and Climax mines in Colorado. Molybdenite also occurs in porphyry cop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
