# El Morado

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Copper mine in Chile

Not to be confused with [El Morado Natural Monument](/source/El_Morado_Natural_Monument).

El Morado El Morado Show map of Atacama Region El Morado Show map of Chile Location Location Coastal Cordillera, 40 km south of Freirina Atacama Region Country Chile Coordinates 28°52′19″S 71°07′34″W / 28.871941°S 71.126211°W / -28.871941; -71.126211 Production Products Copper History Opened 1952 Closed 1973 Owner Company Sociedad Capote Aurífero

**El Morado** (lit. "The Purple") is a largely inactive copper mine and mining district in [Atacama Region](/source/Atacama_Region), Chile.

## Discovery and activity

The copper ores of El Morado were discovered in the late 18th century and were mined through the 19th century.[1]

El Morado's last cycle of mining began in 1952 when the mining company Sociedad Capote Aurífero led by the Callejas brothers began construction of processing facilities.[2][3] The individual mines in El Morado worked in this period included Arenillas and Santo Domingo.[1] In the early 1970s El Morado was restructured as a [mining cooperative](/source/Mining_cooperative).[4] Mining in El Morado halted after a fire burned its processing plant and storage facility on November 1, 1973.[5] At its height El Morado employed more than 300 workers and about one thousand people lived in its vicinity.[1] Following its closure El Morado became depopulated.[5]

## Geology

The copper in El Morado is found in NE-oriented [quartz](/source/Quartz) [veins](/source/Vein_(geology)) whose thickness ranges from 30 to 100 cm.[1] The ore minerals in these veins are [chrysocolla](/source/Chrysocolla), [brochantite](/source/Brochantite) and [chalcopyrite](/source/Chalcopyrite).[1] In addition the veins contain [magnetite](/source/Magnetite), [pyrite](/source/Pyrite) and [specularite](/source/Specularite).[1]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-geotur_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-geotur_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-geotur_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-geotur_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-geotur_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-geotur_1-5) Castillo Jorquera, Nicoll; Tapia Viera, Miguel, eds. (2016). [*“Geoturismo en el Valle del Huasco: Un aporte de las geociencias al desarrollo y crecimiento del turismo tradicional”*](https://goreatacama.gob.cl/wp-content/uploads/Universidad-de-Atacama-Geoturismo-en-el-valle-del-Huasco.pdf) (PDF) (in Spanish). pp. 13–16.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEÁlvarez_Gómez1995158_2-0)** [Álvarez Gómez 1995](#CITEREFÁlvarez_Gómez1995), p. 158.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEÁlvarez_Gómez1995159_3-0)** [Álvarez Gómez 1995](#CITEREFÁlvarez_Gómez1995), p. 159.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Venegas Valdebenito, Hernán (2012). "El cooperativismo minero como alternativa de organización social y económica en los años de la revolución. Atacama 1964-1973". *Tiempo Histórico* (in Spanish). **5**: 103–127.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEÁlvarez_Gómez1995162_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEÁlvarez_Gómez1995162_5-1) [Álvarez Gómez 1995](#CITEREFÁlvarez_Gómez1995), p. 162.

## Bibliography

- [Álvarez Gómez, Oriel](/source/Oriel_%C3%81lvarez_G%C3%B3mez) (1995). *Huasco de cobre* (in Spanish). Ediciones de la Universidad de Atacama. pp. 158–162.

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