# Andacollo > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Andacollo > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Andacollo.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andacollo > Source revision: 1347898955 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For the municipality and the capital city of Minas Department located in Neuquén Province, Argentina, see [Andacollo, Neuquén](/source/Andacollo%2C_Neuqu%C3%A9n). City and Commune in Coquimbo, Chile Andacollo City and Commune Andacollo Plaza Coat of arms Andacollo Location in Chile Coordinates: 30°13′49″S 71°5′9″W / 30.23028°S 71.08583°W / -30.23028; -71.08583 Country Chile Region Coquimbo Province Elqui Government [1] • Type Municipality Area [2] • Total 310.3 km2 (119.8 sq mi) Elevation 1,019 m (3,343 ft) Population (2012 Census)[2] • Total 11,093 • Density 35.75/km2 (92.59/sq mi) • Urban 9,444 • Rural 844 Sex [2] • Men 5,148 • Women 5,140 Time zone UTC−4 (CLT) • Summer (DST) UTC−3 (CLST) Area code country 56 + city 51 Website Municipality of Andacollo **Andacollo** (Spanish pronunciation: [\[an.da.ˈko.ʝo\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Spanish), from [quechua](/source/Quechuan_languages) a*nta,* copper, gold; *coya,* queen) is a [city](/source/List_of_cities_in_Chile) and [commune](/source/Communes_of_Chile) in the [Elqui Province](/source/Elqui_Province), [Coquimbo Region](/source/Coquimbo_Region), [Chile](/source/Chile). It is one of Chile's oldest and best known [pilgrimage](/source/Pilgrimage) centers with [Our Lady of Andacollo](/source/Our_Lady_of_Andacollo) attracting thousands of devotees and tourists each year. Economically, Andacollo is the central town of a mining district dominated by [medium-scale mining](/source/Medium-scale_mining).[3] There are [gold placers](/source/Placer_deposit) and gold mineralizations within [felsic](/source/Felsic) [volcanic rock](/source/Volcanic_rock) in its vicinity.[4] The large open-pit copper mine [Carmen de Andacollo](/source/Carmen_de_Andacollo) lies next to the town and most of its workers live in the town.[5] Andacollo has the first project in Chile of [reforestation](/source/Reforestation) aided by the creation of [technosols](/source/Technosol).[6] The project has been carried out on top of old mine [tailings](/source/Tailings) in the vicinity of the town.[6] ## History Further information: [Our Lady of Andacollo](/source/Our_Lady_of_Andacollo) and [1964 Andacollo mining accident](/source/1964_Andacollo_mining_accident) There are indications that the [Inca Empire](/source/Inca_Empire) [transferred](/source/Mitma) a population of [Churumatas](/source/Churumatas) from Tarija in present-day Bolivia to the area of Andacollo as attested by existence of a gold mine named Churumata in Spanish colonial times.[7] Similarly, it has been proposed that a population of [Tomatas](/source/Tomatas) were transferred the other way round from the vicinities of Elqui Valley to Bolivia.[7] Andacollo is a [copper](/source/Copper_mining_in_Chile) and [gold](/source/Gold_mining_in_Chile) mining city located in the semi-arid mountains of the [Norte Chico](/source/Norte_Chico%2C_Chile). It was founded in 1891. The town was subject to [gold rush](/source/Gold_rush) in the early 1930s when there was a large inflow of gold miners exploiting local [placer deposits](/source/Placer_deposit).[4] While gold mining declined in the late 1930s, around 1935 Andacollo produced as much as 43% of all placer gold of Chile causing a shortage of water needed for processing.[4] Several legends are told about the name of the city. Some say that it comes from the [Quechua](/source/Quechua_language) *Anta-Goya* which means cobre-reina (copper queen). Others say that the name means "Hurry up, Collo" (*Anda, Co*llo). According to these legends, *La Virgen del Rosario*, also known as *la Virgen Morena*, or [Black Madonna](/source/Black_Madonna), appeared to an indigenous miner called "Collo" in the form of a small wooden statuette hidden in rocks. The statue told the newly converted Collo to build up a church at the place where Andacollo is located today. As many miracles are attributed to the Dark Lady (like stopping the [smallpox](/source/Smallpox) epidemic of 1871) the city celebrates the Virgin every year on December 24 to 26. In 1971 state-owned [ENAMI](/source/ENAMI_(Chile)) began studies to establish the [Carmen de Andacollo](/source/Carmen_de_Andacollo) copper mine where previously disorganized small-scale mining had occurred.[8] The mine entered production in 1994.[9] ## Demographics According to the 2002 [census](/source/Census) of the [National Statistics Institute](/source/National_Statistics_Institute_(Chile)), Andacollo had 10,288 inhabitants (5,148 men and 5,140 women). Of these, 9,444 (91.8%) lived in [urban areas](/source/Urban_area) and 844 (8.2%) in [rural areas](/source/Rural_area). The population fell by 16% (1,958 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.[2] ## Administration As a commune, Andacollo is a third-level [administrative division of Chile](/source/Administrative_division_of_Chile) administered by a [municipal council](/source/Municipal_council), headed by an [alcalde](/source/Alcalde) who is directly elected every four years. Within the [electoral divisions of Chile](/source/Electoral_divisions_of_Chile), Andacollo is represented in the [Chamber of Deputies](/source/Chamber_of_Deputies_of_Chile) by Mr. Mario Bertolino ([RN](/source/National_Renewal_(Chile))) and Marcelo Díaz ([PS](/source/Socialist_Party_of_Chile)) as part of the 7th electoral district, (together with [La Serena](/source/La_Serena%2C_Chile), [La Higuera](/source/La_Higuera%2C_Chile), [Vicuña](/source/Vicu%C3%B1a%2C_Chile) and [Paiguano](/source/Paiguano)). The commune is represented in the [Senate](/source/Senate_of_Chile) by Evelyn Matthei Fornet ([UDI](/source/Independent_Democratic_Union)) and Jorge Pizarro Soto ([PDC](/source/Christian_Democratic_Party)) as part of the 4th senatorial constituency (Coquimbo Region). ## Gallery - Basilica of Andacollo - City view - City view - Aerial view of the city - Industrial gold mine - Traditional gold processing - Mercury evaporation to produce gold ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Official_1-0)** ["Municipality of Andacollo"](http://www.andacollochile.cl/) (in Spanish). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20100921095816/http://www.andacollochile.cl/) from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2010. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-INE_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-INE_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-INE_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-INE_2-3) ["National Statistics Institute"](http://www.ine.cl/canales/chile_estadistico/censos_poblacion_vivienda/censo_pobl_vivi.php) (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 September 2010. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-clustersonami_3-0)** [Distritos productivos para el desarrollo de la minería chilena](https://www.sonami.cl/v2/publicaciones/distritos-productivos-desarrollo-mineria-chilena/) [Productive districts for the development of mining in Chile] (Report) (in Spanish). [Centro de Estudios y Documentación Mineros de SONAMI](/source/Sociedad_Nacional_de_Miner%C3%ADa). 2025. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-millanXX_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-millanXX_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-millanXX_4-2) Millán, Augusto (2006). *La minería metálica en Chile en el siglo XX* [*Metal Mining in Chile in the Twentieth Century*] (in Spanish). Santiago de Chile: [Editorial Universitaria](/source/Editorial_Universitaria). pp. 13–14. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [956-11-1849-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/956-11-1849-1). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["About Carmen de Andacollo"](https://www.teck.com/operations/chile/operations/carmen-de-andacollo/). *Teck.com*. Retrieved 2025-05-08. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-tecnosuelo_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-tecnosuelo_6-1) ["Andacollo convierte relave minero en parque reforestado con tecnosuelo, el primero en Chile"](https://chilepaisminero.com/andacollo-convierte-relave-minero-en-parque-reforestado-con-tecnosuelo-el-primero-en-chile/). *Chile País Minero* (in Spanish). 2025-07-30. Retrieved 2025-07-30. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Barra_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Barra_7-1) Barragán V., Mario E. (2020). "Los churumatas del valle de Elqui, en Chile y los indios Tomatas "Copiapóes" de Tarija". *Revista Científica de Humanidades* (in Spanish). **2** (2): 1–14. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDanús2007187_8-0)** [Danús 2007](#CITEREFDanús2007), p. 187. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-intmin_9-0)** ["Teck Cominco successfully acquires Aur Resources"](https://im-mining.com/2007/08/23/teck-cominco-successfully-acquires-aur-resources/). *International Mining*. 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2025-07-30. **Bibliography** - Danús, Hernán (2007). "V. La geología y las exploraciones mineras". *Crónicas mineras de medio siglo (1950-2000)* (in Spanish). Santiago de Chile: RIL Editores. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-956-284-555-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-956-284-555-7). ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Andacollo, Chile](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Andacollo,_Chile). - (in Spanish) [Municipality of Andacollo](http://www.andacollochile.cl/) v t e < Communes and municipalities in Coquimbo Region > Elqui Andacollo Coquimbo La Higuera La Serena Paihuano Vicuña Limarí Combarbalá Monte Patria Punitaqui Río Hurtado Ovalle Choapa Canela Illapel Los Vilos Salamanca Authority control databases International VIAF National United States Israel Other Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Andacollo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andacollo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andacollo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.