{{Short description|none}} {{Infobox mining | name = Mining in Chile | image = | width = | caption = | subdivision_type = | state/province = | country = | authority = National Geology and Mining Service<br />Ministry of Mining | official website = | commodity = {{plainlist| * Lithium {{gain}} 56,000 tonnes * Copper {{loss}} 5.3 million tonnes * Gold {{gain}} {{convert|31.861|t|e6ozt|abbr=off}} * Iron ore {{gain}} 11,443.4 million tonnes * Silver {{gain}} {{convert|1400|t|e6ozt|abbr=off}} * Iodine {{gain}} 23,000 tonnes * Iron ore {{gain}} 19,000 tonnes{{efn-ua|"Usable ore", if measured by iron content Chile produced an estimate of 12,000 tonnes of ore in 2025.<ref name=usgsiron/>}} }} | production = | value = | employees = | year = 2025 }} thumb|right|1947 map of mines in Chile
The mining sector in Chile has historically been and continues to be one of the pillars of the Chilean economy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Centner |first=Charles William |date=1942 |title=Great Britain and Chilean Mining 1830-1914 |journal=The Economic History Review |volume=12 |issue=1/2 |pages=76–82 |doi=10.2307/2590393 |jstor=2590393 |issn=0013-0117}}</ref> '''Mining in Chile''' is concentrated in 14 mining districts, all of them in the northern half of the country and in particular in the Norte Grande region spanning most of the Atacama Desert.{{sfn|Andrade|Muñoz|Salazar|2025|p=4}}
Chile was, in 2025, the world's largest producer of copper,<ref name=usgscopper>{{Cite book |title=Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 |publisher=USGS |year=2026 |chapter=Copper |access-date=2026-03-20 |chapter-url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-copper.pdf}}</ref><ref name=cifras>{{Cite report |title=Cifras actualizadas de la minería |date=2026-02-01|access-date=2026-03-20 |url=https://consejominero.cl/mineria-en-chile/cifras-actualizadas-de-la-mineria/ |publisher=Consejo Minero |page=4 |language=es}}</ref> iodine<ref name=usgsiodine>{{Cite book |title=Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 |publisher=USGS |year=2026 |chapter=Iodine |access-date=2026-03-20 |chapter-url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-iodine.pdf}}</ref> and rhenium,<ref name=usgsrhenium>{{Cite book |title=Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 |publisher=USGS |year=2026 |chapter=Rhenium |access-date=2026-03-20 |chapter-url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-rhenium.pdf}}</ref> the third largest producer of lithium<ref name=usgslithium>{{Cite book |title=Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 |publisher=USGS |year=2026 |chapter=Lithium |access-date=2026-03-20 |chapter-url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-lithium.pdf}}</ref> and molybdenum,<ref name=cifras/> the fifth largest producer of salt,<ref name=usgssalt>{{Cite book |title=Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 |publisher=USGS |year=2026 |chapter=Salt |access-date=2026-03-20 |chapter-url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-salt.pdf}}</ref> the sixth largest producer of silver,<ref name=cifras/> the ninth largest producer of potash,<ref name=usgspotash>{{Cite book |title=Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 |publisher=USGS |year=2026 |chapter=Potash |access-date=2026-03-20 |chapter-url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-potash.pdf}}</ref> the thirteenth producer of sulfur<ref name=usgssulfur>{{Cite book |title=Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 |publisher=USGS |year=2026 |chapter=Sulfur |access-date=2026-03-20 |chapter-url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-sulfur.pdf}}</ref> and the fourteenth producer of iron ore<ref name=usgsiron>{{Cite book |title=Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 |publisher=USGS |year=2026 |chapter=Iron Ore |access-date=2026-03-20 |chapter-url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-iron-ore.pdf}}</ref> in the world. As a by-product of copper mining Chile produces also large quantities of gold and silver, but there are also a number of mines extracting gold as their primary resource.<ref name=cifrasoro/>
In 2021 mining taxes stood for 19% of the Chilean state's incomes.<ref name=magdalena>{{Cite report |title=Impactos socioeconómicos de la minería en Chile |date=2023-04-04 |url=https://obtienearchivo.bcn.cl/obtienearchivo?id=repositorio/10221/34140/1/Informe_N_04_23_Impactos_socioeconomicos_de_la_mineria_en_Chile.pdf |last=Cardemil Winkler |first=Magdalena |issue=Serie Informes Nº 04-23 |language=es}}</ref> Mining stood for about 14% of gross domestic product (GDP) but by estimates including economic activity linked to mining it stood for 20% of GDP.<ref name=magdalena/> About 3% of Chile's workforce work in mines and quarries but in a wider sense about 10% of the country's employment is linked to mining.<ref name=magdalena/>
The governance of mining in Chile is done by non-overlapping bodies; the Chilean Copper Commission, ENAMI, the National Geology and Mining Service (SERNAGEOMIN) and the Ministry of Mining.<ref name=soren/> SONAMI and Consejo Minero are guilds associations grouping corporate mining interests in Chile.{{sfn|Ulloa Urrutia|Contreras Biekert|Gana Aravena|Miranda Toledo|2017|p=50}} Chile's National Statistics Institute reports on the state of the mining industry through the montly publication of the Mining Production Index.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Producción minera |url=https://www.ine.gob.cl/statistics/economic/mining/mining-production |access-date=2026-01-04 |website=National Statistics Institute}}</ref>
Some challenges of the Chilean mining industry come from overall mine aging, remoteness and harsh climatic conditions of mining in the high Andes,{{efn-ua|Many batteries used in mining have a limited performance in cold environments.<ref>[https://www.mch.cl/negocios-industria/la-mina-electrica-como-la-mineria-enfrenta-el-reto-de-las-condiciones-ambientales/ La mina eléctrica: Cómo la minería enfrenta el reto de las condiciones ambientales]</ref> Also, for mines in the high Andes there are logistical difficulties in the use of sea water, in addition to increased probabilities of extreme weather events that may disrupt water supply.{{sfn|COCHILCO|2024|p=3}}{{sfn|COCHILCO|2024|p=2}}}} and increased water demand coupled with water scarcity.{{efn-ua|20 of Chile's 24 desalination plants provide water for the mining industry.<ref name=rifourg>{{Cite news |title=La urgencia de garantizar seguridad hídrica en Chile |last=Rifo |first=Miguel |date=2025-06-30 |url=https://www.reporteminero.cl/noticia/noticias/2025/06/seguridad-hidrica-desalacion-chile-urgencia-inversion |access-date=2025-07-01 |work=Reporte Minero & Energético |language=es}}</ref>}} Other challenges are related to increasingly complex legal frameworks or the fact that important mineral deposits lie below or next to glaciers along the Argentina–Chile border and have thus both issues relating to the bi-nationality and of environmental impacts on glaciers and rock glaciers.<ref name=treinta>{{Cite report |title=A 30 años del Plan Aurífero Nacional, una revisión a la minería de oro en Chile |date=2017-05-01 |url=https://bibliotecadigital.ciren.cl/server/api/core/bitstreams/726dd465-e2ee-479d-940b-52bc06f6f1c1/content |last1=Villela Olavarría |first1=Daniela |doi= |volume=DE 08/2017 |last2=Cantallopts Araya |first2=Jorge |publisher=COCHILCO |language=es}}</ref>
==Copper== {{main|Copper mining in Chile}} [[File:Caletones.jpg|thumb|Slag disposal from the copper smelter of Caletones next to El Teniente, an underground copper mine in the Andes of Central Chile (2005)]] thumb|right|Chilean copper miners
Chile is the world's largest producer of copper<ref name=usgscopper/> and has been so uninterruptedly since 1983. This activity provides a substantial part of the Chilean state's revenue: slightly less than 6% in 2020, with state-owned copper company Codelco alone generating 2.6% of state revenue.<ref name=corvera>{{Cite report |title=Aporte de la minería del cobre a las arcas fiscales: Proyección para el año 2021 |date=2021-06-02 |url=https://obtienearchivo.bcn.cl/obtienearchivo?id=repositorio/10221/32291/1/N_55_21_Aporte_de_la_mineria_del_cobre_a_las_arcas_fiscales._Estimacion_para_2021.pdf |last=Corvera Vergara |first=María Teresa |issue=Minuta Nº 55-21 |language=es|publisher=Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile}}</ref>
Mining of copper in Chile is done chiefly on giant low-grade porphyry copper deposits. As of 2023 the most productive copper mine is Escondida owned by BHP, Rio Tinto and two other private companies and located in inland Antofagasta Region.<ref name=fivecopper>{{Cite web |title=The five largest copper mines in operation in Chile |url=https://www.mining-technology.com/marketdata/five-largest-copper-mines-chile/?cf-view |date=2024-06-24 |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=Mining Technology}}</ref>
Part of the state's income from copper mining goes to the Economic and Social Stabilization Fund which is since 207 the successor to the Copper Stabilization Fund established in 1987.{{sfn|Ceballos|Tilton|2005|p=295}} This fund allows for more precise annual government budget planning given that copper prices can exhibit strong fluctuations.{{sfn|Ceballos|Tilton|2005|p=298}}
==Lithium== {{main|Lithium mining in Chile}} Northern Chile forms part of the Lithium Triangle with substantial reserves in the form of brine. The explosive growth in electric vehicles since 2015 has triggered increased demand.
Chile is the main producer of lithium from brine.<ref name=cabello2022>Cabello, J. (2022). [http://www.andeangeology.cl/index.php/revista1/article/view/V49n2-3444/html Reserves, resources and lithium exploration in the salt flats of northern Chile]. ''Andean Geology''. '''49''' (2): 297–306. doi: [http://dx.doi.org/10.5027/andgeoV49n2-3444 10.5027/andgeoV49n2-3444]. Retrieved July 2, 2022.</ref> Until 2017, when it was surpassed by Australia, Chile was the over-all main producer of lithium.<ref name=TheEco22>{{Cite news |title=Argentina could help the world by becoming a big lithium exporter |date=2022-11-15 |access-date=2023-04-21 |newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2022/11/15/argentina-could-help-the-world-by-becoming-a-big-lithium-exporter}}</ref> Estimates show that Chile is expected to be surpassed also by Argentina and China in lithium production by 2030.<ref name=TheEco22/> Lithium-expert Gustavo Lagos suggests that lithium production in Chile will by 2030 represent be about 8% of the world's total production.<ref>{{Cite report |title=Tendencias en el mercado del litio. Clase Ejecutiva. |date=2023-11-22 |url=http://www.gustavolagos.cl/uploads/1/2/4/2/12428079/g._lagos_2023-08-22._tendencias_en_el_mercado_del_litio_cropped.pdf|language=es |last=Lagos |first=Gustavo |author-link=Gustavo Lagos}}</ref> Chile has the world's cheapest production costs for lithium and this could be an advantage for mining in Chile once recycled lithium enters the market competing with costly mining operations in the future.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Can Chile Meet the Moment on Lithium? |last=Garip |first=Patricia |date=2024-04-10 |url=https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/can-chile-meet-the-moment-on-lithium/ |access-date=2025-04-11 |work=Americas Quarterly}}</ref>
Most of Chile's lithium reserves are in Salar de Atacama and Salar de Maricunga,<ref name=cabello2022/> and all lithium extracted in Chile as of 2023 comes from Salar de Atacama.<ref name=Munita>{{Cite news |title=Control estatal de los salares, negociar con SQM y empresa nacional: Las claves de la estrategia del Gobierno por litio |url=https://www.emol.com/noticias/Economia/2023/04/21/1092883/claves-politica-nacional-litio.html |last=Munita C. |first=Ignacia |date=2023-04-21 |access-date=2023-04-21 |work=Emol |language=Spanish}}</ref> The only two lithium-extracting companies currently operating in Chile, SQM and Albemarle, have licences to extract lithium until 2030 and 2043 respectively.<ref name=Munita/><ref name=exante21>{{Cite news |title=Las razones del desplome bursátil de SQM tras el anuncio presidencial del litio |url=https://www.ex-ante.cl/las-razones-del-desplome-bursatil-de-sqm-tras-el-anuncio-presidencial-del-litio/ |last=Browne R. |first=Vicente |date=2023-04-21 |access-date=2023-04-21 |work=Ex-Ante |language=Spanish}}</ref> In April 2023 Chilean government announced plans for nationalizing its lithium industry.<ref name=reuternat21>{{Cite news |title=Chile plans to nationalize its vast lithium industry |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chile-plans-nationalize-its-vast-lithium-industry-2023-04-21/ |last1=Villegas |first1=Alexander |date=2023-04-21 |access-date=2023-04-21 |work=Reuters |last2=Scheyder |first2=Ernest}}</ref> The state-owned copper company Codelco was commissioned by the government to negotiate nationalization with SQM.<ref name=exante21/>
==Gold== {{main|Gold mining in Chile}} [[File:Andacollo Gold mine.jpg|thumb|Gold mine in Andacollo.]] The amount of gold mined in Chile has fluctuated in the 2010–2023 period from a high of 50,852 kg in 2013 to a low of 30,907 kg in 2022.<ref name=cifrasoro>{{Cite report |title=Cifras actualizadas de la minería |date=2025-03-01 |url=https://consejominero.cl/mineria-en-chile/cifras-actualizadas-de-la-mineria/ |publisher=Consejo Minero |page=31|language=es}}</ref> Also in the same period 36% to 72% of the gold produced annually in Chile was a by-product of copper mining.<ref name=cifrasoro/> The share of medium and small-scale mining in gold production in Chile has dropped from an average of 45% for the 2003–2005 period to 9% in 2023.<ref name=cifrasoro/>
Most of the economically viable gold deposits in Chile belong to two types of deposits; high-sulfidation epithermal and porphyry type.<ref name=goldcabello>{{Cite journal |title=Gold deposits in Chile |journal=Andean Geology |last=Cabello |first=José |date=2021 |url=https://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-71062021000100001&lng=es&nrm=iso |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=1–23|doi=10.5027/andgeoV48n1-3294 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Most of these deposits formed in the last 66 millions years (Cenozoic) in connection to magmatic activity in the Andes.<ref name=goldcabello/> Gold from iron oxide copper gold ore deposits (IOCG), from mesothermal deposits, or of Mesozoic age (formed 66 to 252 million years ago) may in some cases be recurrent geological features but lack often large concentrations to make them profitable.<ref name=goldcabello/> Almost all valuable non-placer gold in Chile occur in the northern half of the country and some deposits are grouped into belts like the Maricunga Gold Belt and El Indio Gold Belt.<ref name=goldcabello/>
Almost no mining of placer gold occurs today.<ref name=placer19>{{Cite journal |title=Ranking of Placer Gold Prospects in Chile Through Analytic Hierarchy Process |journal=Natural Resources Research |last1=Jara |first1=J. Joaquín |issue=3 |volume=28 |last2=Moreno |first2=Francisco |doi=10.1007/s11053-018-9420-5 |year=2019 |last3=Jara |first3=Raúl |last4=Dubournais |first4=Francisco |last5=Mata |first5=Rodrigo |last6=Peters |first6=David |last7=Marquardt |first7=Carlos |last8=Lagos |first8=Gustavo|author-link8=Gustavo Lagos|pages=813–832 |bibcode=2019NRR....28..813J |s2cid=169899273 }}</ref> The placer deposits of some areas of difficult access in Patagonia are subject to sporadic small-scale illegal gold mining.<ref name=soren/> A 2019 study found that seven of Chile's ten best placer gold prospects lie around Cordillera de Nahuelbuta.<ref name=placer19/>
==Iron== {{main|Iron mining in Chile}} [[file:WORKING_HARD!_(27414907464).jpg|250px|thumb|Train moving iron ore in the industrial area of Los Colorados mine.]] Since at least 2010 Chile's has each year produced 0.6% to 0.7% of all iron mined in the world.<ref name=cifras/> Production has risen from 6.8 million metric tonnes in 2010 to more than 10 million metric tonnes each year beginning 2021.<ref name=cifras/> Mining of iron ore deposits along the Chilean Iron Belt have been facilitated by their proximity to the ports of export at the coast, and this had in particular had an impact for the economic viability of small iron ore deposits.{{sfn|Millán|1999|p=92}} Compañía Minera del Pacífico (CMP) is largest iron mining company in Chile.<ref name=CMCMP>{{Cite web |title=CMP |url=https://consejominero.cl/nosotros/socios/cmp/ |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=Consejo Minero|language=es}}</ref> Is through its parent company Compañía de Acero del Pacífico (CAP) a member of Consejo Minero, a guild of large mining companies in the country.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Grupo minero CAP se incorpora al Consejo Minero y se conveirte en la primera productora de hierro en sumarse a la entidad gremial |date=2017-07-03 |url=https://www.portalminero.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=134643829 |access-date=2025-04-30 |work=Portal Minero |language=es}}</ref> Compañia Minera del Pacífico has three main mines each with its own port for export.<ref name=CMPself>{{Cite web |title=Iron Market |url=https://www.cmp.cl/en/operaciones/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=CMP}}</ref> Near Copiapó the company owns Cerro Negro Norte mine which uses the port of Punta Totoralillo, further south the company is in ownership of Los Colorados mine which uses the port of Guacolda II, and near the city of La Serena El Romeral mine is operated using the port of Guayacán in Coquimbo.<ref name=CMPself/>
In medium-scale iron mining in Chile the mines and deposits of El Carmen, Huantemé, Cerro Imán and El Dorado have been important in the second half of the 20th century.{{sfn|Millán|1999|p=192}}
The Dominga project led by Andes Iron seeks to establish a new iron and copper mine near the coast of northern Coquimbo Region.<ref name=laboerde24>{{Cite news |title=El millonario proyecto minero Dominga vuelve a las manos del Gobierno de Boric |last=Laborde |first=Antonia |date=2024-12-10 |url=https://elpais.com/chile/2024-12-10/el-millonario-proyecto-minero-dominga-vuelve-a-las-manos-del-gobierno-de-boric.html |access-date=2025-05-15 |work=El País |language=es}}</ref> This project has proved controversial for political and environmental reasons.<ref name=laboerde24/>
==Iodine and nitrate== {{see also|List of Saltpeter works in Tarapacá and Antofagasta}} In the Atacama Desert in northern Chile there are vast superficial deposits of caliche, a mixture of gypsum, sodium chloride and other salts, and sand. It is associated to the mineral nitratine also known as "Chile saltpeter" (Spanish: ''salitre''). The deposits contain an average of 7.5% sodium nitrate, as well as sodium sulfate (18.87%), sodium chloride (4.8%), and smaller amounts of potassium, calcium, magnesium, borate, iodine, and perchlorate. About two-thirds of the deposits are insoluble gangue minerals. The caliche beds are from 2 cm to several meters thick in alluvial deposits, where the soluble minerals form a cement in unconsolidated regolith. Nitrate-bearing caliche is also found permeating bedrock to form bedrock deposits.<ref name="WisniakGarces2001"/>
Nitratine is a composite of sodium nitrate (NaNO<sub>3</sub>) and potassium nitrate (KNO<sub>3</sub>). Nitratine was an important source of export revenue for Chile until World War I, when Europe began to produce both nitrates industrially in large quantities.<ref name="WisniakGarces2001">{{cite journal |last1=Wisniak |first1=Jaime |last2=Garces |first2=Ingrid |title=The rise and fall of the salitre (sodium nitrate) industry |journal=Indian Journal of Chemical Technology |date=September 2001 |volume=8 |pages=427–438 |url=http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/22940/1/IJCT%208%285%29%20427-438.pdf |access-date=26 March 2022}}</ref> Mining nitrate in the Far North of Chile was arguably the main economic activity of the country from 1880 to 1930.<ref name=memsalitre>{{Cite web |title=La industria del salitre en Chile (1880-1930) |url=https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-3309.html |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Memoria Chilena |language=es}}</ref>
Caliche is the main iodine ore in Chile and the country is the world's prime producer of this element in addition to hosting over half of the worlds reserves of iodine.<ref name=lifeiodine>{{Cite journal |last1=Roche |first1=Lindsey |url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11367-023-02200-x.pdf |volume=28 |pages=1132–1141 |last2=Muhl |first2=Marco |last3=Finkbeiner |first3=Matthias|title=Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of iodine production from caliche ore in Chile |journal=The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment |year=2023|issue=9 |doi=10.1007/s11367-023-02200-x |bibcode=2023IJLCA..28.1132R }}</ref><ref name="USGS Iodine Production Statistics">[https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2025/mcs2025-iodine.pdf USGS Iodine Production Statistics]</ref> SQM and Cosayach are Chile's first and second largest iodine producers.<ref name=lifeiodine/><ref>{{Cite news |title=Algorta Norte busca estar entre los tres principales produtores de yodo |date=2012-03-19 |url=https://www.df.cl/empresas/algorta-norte-busca-estar-entre-los-tres-mayores-productores-de-yodo |access-date=2025-08-07 |work=Diario Financiero |language=es}}</ref> Iodine at SQM is extracted from caliche ore and requires also the consumables sulphur, ammonium nitrate, sulfuric acid, kerosene, water, electricity and fossil fuel, mainly diesel.<ref name=lifeiodine/>
==Other minerals== {{See also|Chilean silver rush}} Since the late 1970s, the production of gold and silver has increased greatly.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} The lead, iron and petroleum industries have shrunk since the mid-1970s, the result of both adverse international market conditions and declines in the availability of some of these resources. With a combined total value of about US$4 billion, two of the largest investments planned in Chile in the early 1990s were designated for an aluminium smelters projects in the Puerto Aisén<ref name=EyN06>{{Cite news |title=Aluminio: Emblemático proyecto Alumysa fue desechado definitivamente |url=http://www.economiaynegocios.cl/noticias/noticias.asp?id=16038 |date=2006-03-31 |access-date=2023-04-18 |work=Economía y Negocios |publisher=El Mercurio |language=Spanish|last=Meriches R.|first=Juan}}</ref> and Strait of Magellan areas.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}
In the 2005–2024 period more than half of the silver produced annually in Chile was a by-product of copper mining.<ref name=cifras/>
===Coal=== {{main|Coal mining in Chile}} Historically, coal mining had some importance in the southern half of the country from the 1850s to the 1990s<ref name=Davis1990>{{cite conference |title=Breves recuerdos de algunas actividades mineras del carbón |last1=Davis |first1=Eliodoro Martín|date=1990 |publisher=Departamento de Geociencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Concepción |book-title=Actas |pages=189–203 |location=Santiago, Chile |conference=Segundo Simposio sobre el Terciario de Chile |language=es}}</ref><ref name=CNEexplo>[https://archive.today/20130116014051/http://www.cne.cl/energias/hidrocarburos/tipos-de-energia/370-explotacion-reservas Explotacion Reservas]. Comisión Naciona de Energía. Accessed on September 10. 2012.</ref> with a brief revival in Invierno mine from 2013 to 2020.<ref>{{Cite news |title=El silencioso primer año de Mina Invierno |url=https://www.df.cl/empresas/mineria/el-silencioso-primer-ano-de-mina-invierno |last=Pozo B. |first=Andrés |date=2014-08-11 |access-date=2023-03-15 |work=Diario Financiero |language=Spanish}}</ref><ref name=Reportemin>{{Cite news |title=Copec concreta la venta de su participación en Mina Invierno |url=https://www.reporteminero.cl/noticia/noticias/2022/03/copec-vende-su-participacion-mina-invierno |last=González Encina |first=Verónica |date=2022-03-08 |access-date=2022-06-08 |work=Reporte Minero |language=Spanish}}</ref>
===Cobalt=== There is no primary mining of cobalt in Chile with the last activity ending in 1944.{{sfn|Townley|Díaz|Luca|2017b}} Cobalt resources are known from the Chilean Iron Belt near the coast of Coquimbo and Atacama regions and in the site of El Volcán in Cajón del Maipo in the Andes near Santiago.{{sfn|Townley|Díaz|Luca|2017b}} Cobalt is a potential by-product of iron and copper mining along the iron belt.{{sfn|Townley|Díaz|Luca|2017b}} It is known to be found in considerable concentrations among discarded material –mainly tailings– of copper, iron and gold mining in Chile.<ref name=gastoncobalt>{{Cite news |title=Perspectivas y oportunidades del «oro azul» para Chile |last=Fernández Montero |first=Gastón |date= |access-date=2025-07-01 |work=guiaminera.cl|url=https://www.guiaminera.cl/perspectivas-y-oportunidades-del-oro-azul-para-chile/ |language=es}}</ref> Capstone Copper's mines of Mantoverde and Santo Domingo are thought to be able to produce battery-grade cobalt.<ref name=inmin>{{Cite news |title=Capstone's 'fast follower' philosophy keeps bearing copper fruit |date=2025-01-28 |url=https://im-mining.com/2025/01/28/capstones-fast-follower-keeps-bearing-copper-fruit/ |access-date=2025-07-20 |work=International Mining}}</ref>
===Manganese=== There is no manganese mining in Chile since 2009 when Empresa Manganeso Atacama ceased operations.{{sfn|Townley|Díaz|Luca|2017|p=49}} Until then about half of the Chilean manganese had been exported to Argentina, and mining was mainly done in underground mines.{{sfn|Townley|Díaz|Luca|2017|p=49}} Historically Corral Quemado and other areas of Coquimbo Region have produced most manganese in Chile.<ref name=manghis>{{Cite journal |title=Viva en la guerra, agonizante en la paz. La minería del manganeso en Chile y la inscripción estratégica del Norte Chico en el orbe de los conflictos (1884-1953) |journal=Perfiles Económicos |last=Galaz-Mandakovic |first=Damir |url=https://revistas.uv.cl/index.php/Perfiles/article/view/3427/3570 |volume=14 |pages=119–141 |year=2023 |trans-title=Alive in war, dying in peace. Manganese mining in Chile and the strategic inscription of the Norte Chico in the orb of conflicts (1884-1953)}}</ref> Manganese mining in Chile and Corral Quemado had a strong peak in 1943 when it came to produce more of what was being purchased leading to large stockpiles accumulating in ports and railway stations and ultimately to a halt in mining and thus mass unemployment.<ref name=manghis/> Transport costs have been a comparative disadvantage for the commercialization of manganese mined in Chile.<ref name=manghis/> The area around Taltal was second to Corral Quemado in importance in manganese mining in the 1940s.<ref name=manghis/> Known manganese deposits are scattered along the length of Chile from Arica (18.5° S) to Valdivia (39.5° S).<ref name=manghis/> In detail, the known manganese deposits concentrate in three areas; the Altiplano in northernmost Chile, the Coquimbo and Atacama regions and the metasedimentary rocks of the provinces of Cautín and Valdivia.{{sfn|Townley|Díaz|Luca|2017|p=28}} In the regions of Coquimbo and Atacama manganese appear as stratabound layers in the Cretaceous volcanic and sedimentary formations of Arqueros and Quebrada Marquesa.<ref name=aguirre>{{Cite journal |title=Stratigraphy and Mineralogy of the Manganese Sedimentary Deposits of Coquimbo Province, Chile |journal=Economic Geology |last1=Aguirre |first1=Luis |url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=30a883aec2e794a5f50da56da19cb7cba09b39a3 |volume=59 |pages=432–435 |last2=Mehech |first2=Sonia|year=1964 |issue=3 |doi=10.2113/gsecongeo.59.3.428 |bibcode=1964EcGeo..59..428A |url-access=subscription }}</ref> In Arqueros Formation it occurs in some locations together with stratabound copper.<ref name=aguirre/> By 1964 87% of the magnesium mined in Chile came from these formations in Coquimbo Region.<ref name=aguirre/>
===Rare-earth metals=== {{main|Rare-earth resources in Chile}} While relatively unexplored<ref name=REElegal>{{Cite journal|year=2022 |title=Incentivos jurídico-económicos a la minería y procesamiento de tierras raras |journal=Revista de derecho ambiental |last=Plaza Reveco |first=Rafael Mauricio |url=https://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0719-46332022000100129&script=sci_arttext |volume=17 |issue= |trans-title=Legal-economic incentives for mining and local processing of rare earths |language=es |doi=10.5354/0719-4633.2022.66408}}</ref> for rare-earth metal Chile's main resources have been identified as of 2026 to lie in the commune of Penco near the coast in central Chile and in the Norte Chico between Coquimbo and Copiapó.<ref name=REEbb>{{Cite news |title=Tierras raras en Chile: para qué sirven, dónde están y por qué EEUU está interesado en ellas |last=Haas |first=Bárbara |date=2026-03-13 |url=https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/bbcl-explica/bbcl-explica-notas/2026/03/13/tierras-raras-en-chile-para-que-sirven-donde-estan-y-por-que-eeuu-esta-interesado-en-ellas.shtml |access-date=2026-03-23 |work=Radio Bío-Bío |language=es}}</ref> Since at least 2016 the company Aclara Resources has been developing plans to commercially exploit rare-earth metals in Penco.<ref name=ltree>{{Cite news |title=Tierras raras en Chile: los proyectos que podrían llamar la atención de EE.UU. |last=Badal |first=Ignacio |date=2026-03-14 |access-date=2026-03-25 |work=La Tercera |language=es|url=https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/tierras-raras-en-chile-los-proyectos-que-podrian-llamar-la-atencion-de-eeuu/}}</ref> As of March 2026 its environmental impact assessment was under evaluation by the Environmental Assessment Service.<ref name=ltree/> If approved the mine is planned to produce an average of 811 tons of RRE-oxides.<ref name=ltree/> About 60 km south of Penco regolith formed from granites of the Coastal Batholith of central Chile in Cordillera de Nahuelbuta have been investigated as a source of rare-earth metals.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Regolith-hosted rare earth exploration in the Chilean Coastal Range of the Central Andes |journal=Journal of Geochemical Exploration |last=Bustos |first=Nicolás |volume=234 |last2=Marquardt |first2=Carlos |last3=Belmar |first3=Álex |last4=Cordeiro |first4=Pedro |doi=10.1016/j.gexplo.2021.106934|year=2022}}</ref> North of Penco NeoRe and Chilean Cobalt Corp have together explored for REE in the coastal communes of Chanco, Cobquecura and Pelluhue.<ref name=ltree/>
Old tailings from the mining of other resources have also been identified as potential sources of rare-earth metals in Chile.<ref name=REElegal/>
==Medium-scale mining== {{Location map+|Chile|float=right|width=200|caption=Location of mining districts where medium-scale mining is dominant.{{sfn|Andrade|Muñoz|Salazar|2025|p=24}}|places= <!-- North-East--> {{Location map~ |Chile |label=Chañaral |relief=yes |lat=-26.344444 |long=-70.621944 |position=left |width=100 |label_width=8 |float=right |mark=Cercle rouge 100%.svg |marksize=15 |caption=Locationx }} {{Location map~ |Chile |label=Copiapó |relief=yes |lat=-27.366389 |long=-70.333056 |position=left |width=100 |label_width=8 |float=right |mark=Cercle rouge 100%.svg |marksize=15 |caption=Locationx }} {{Location map~ |Chile |label=Huasco |relief=yes |lat=-28.466389 |long=-71.219167 |position=left |width=100 |label_width=8 |float=top |mark=Cercle rouge 100%.svg |marksize=15 |caption=Locationx }} {{Location map~ |Chile |label=Andacollo |relief=yes |lat=-30.230278 |long=-71.085833 |position=left |width=100 |label_width=8 |float=top |mark=Cercle rouge 100%.svg |marksize=15 |caption=Locationx }} }} Most medium-scale mining is concentrated near roads or other pre-existing infrastructure, and lie thus away from the high Andes where nearly all mines belong to the large-scale mining category.{{sfn|Andrade|Muñoz|Salazar|2025|p=24}} The mining districts of Chañaral, Copiapó, Huasco and Andacollo have most of their mining done by medium-scale mining companies.{{sfn|Andrade|Muñoz|Salazar|2025|p=24}} The state-owned enterprise ENAMI has among its goals supporting medium-scale mining.{{sfn|Ulloa Urrutia|Contreras Biekert|Gana Aravena|Miranda Toledo|2017|p=50}} Medium-scale mining has a larger share of mining properties in the country as whole, and in Atacama Region in particular, relative to large-scale mining that is dominant in the regions of Tarapacá and Antofagasta.{{sfn|Ulloa Urrutia|Contreras Biekert|Gana Aravena|Miranda Toledo|2017|p=283}}
Medium-scale mining in Chile tends to focus on copper and produced about 4.5% of the copper mined in the country from 2017 to 2021.{{sfn|Guajardo|Marañón|Ciudad|del Mauro|2023|p=22}} In that period the copper extracted by medium-scale mining increased each year starting from 256 kt in 2017 ato 313 kt in 2021.{{sfn|Guajardo|Marañón|Ciudad|del Mauro|2023|p=22}} Besides copper other medium-scale mining activity in Chile involve gold, iron, zinc and lead.<ref name=endboommedium/> The amount and share of the gold mined by small and medium scale mining in Chile has declined significantly from 2003 to 2023.<ref name=cifrasoro/> In iron mining El Carmen mine near Chañaral is a leading medium-scale producer.<ref name=endboommedium/> According to figures from 2013 all zinc and lead mining in Chile was done by medium and small-scale miners.<ref name=endboommedium>{{Cite news |title=The strategy is deploying medium-scale mining to survive the end of the boom |date=2013-08-29 |url=https://www.nuevamineria.com/revista/the-strategy-is-deploying-medium-scale-mining-to-survive-the-end-of-the-boom/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |work=Revista Nueva Minería}}</ref>
Most mineral exploration efforts by medium-scale mining are done near established mines (brownfield exploration), and as of 2023 about three quartes of these exploration projects are for copper and the remaining for gold.{{sfn|Guajardo|Marañón|Ciudad|del Mauro|2023|p=37}}
Some medium-scale mining companies in Chile are Grupo Minero Las Cenizas (copper), Sierra Atacama (copper),{{efn-ua|Sierra Atacama SpA operations the underground copper mine of Sierra Atacama about 65 km from the port city of Antofagasta.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Diputado Araya exige a Sernageomin fiscalizar dos empresas mineras de Antofagasta |date=2025-08-14 |url=https://www.soychile.cl/Antofagasta/Sociedad/2025/08/14/917553/fiscalizacion-faenas-antofagasta.html |access-date=2025-09-19 |work=SoyAntofagasta |language=es}}</ref><ref name=ocultoDF>{{Cite news |title=Minera Sierra Atacama, controlad por Martín Borda, busca modificar reorganización: "Se ocultó información" |last=Troncoso Ostornol |first=J. |date=2025-06-26 |newspaper=Diario Financiero |language=es}}</ref> 93% of the shares of the mine are owned by Minera Salar Blanco which is in turn owned by Chilean businessman Martín Borda mongo,<ref name=ocultoDF/> Lithium Power International and Bearing Lithium Corp.}} Haldeman Mining (copper and gold),{{efn-ua|Michilla, Tambo de Oro and Longacho.<ref>[https://www.reporteminero.cl/noticia/noticias/2025/01/haldeman-mining-proyecto-minero-sagasca ]</ref>}} Cosayach (iodine) and Santa Fe Mining (iron).
==Small-scale mining== As with medium-scale mining, small scale mining concentrates in lowlands and the lower elevations of the Andes, usually near roads or other relevant infrastructure.{{sfn|Andrade|Muñoz|Salazar|2025|pp=6–7}} The number of artisan miners in Chile, often known as ''pirquineros'', has varied widely over the years.<ref name=soren>{{Cite journal |title=La formalización de la pequeña minería en Chile: logros y desafíos de la Empresa Nacional de Minería (ENAMI) |journal=Investigaciones Geográficas |last1=Scholvin |first1=Sören |volume=66 |pages=1–13 |last2=Atienza |first2=Miguel |language=es}}</ref> Since 2000 in some years with high metal prices have had up to c. 14,000 small-scale miners active. On average 95% of small-scale miners work in copper mining.<ref name=soren/> These miners are supported by ENAMI which processes copper ore it purchases at stabilized prices.<ref name=soren/><ref name=sona>{{Cite report |title=Fundiciones de Cobre en Chile |date=2015-06-10 |url=https://www.sonami.cl/v2/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/FCM-20150610-Com-Miner%C3%ADa-y-Energia-Senado-Fundiciones.pdf |last=Costabal M. |first=Francisco|author-link=Francisco Costabal |access-date=2025-03-23 |publisher=SONAMI |language=es}}</ref> The levels of illegal mining in Chile are low relative to neighbouring countries.<ref name=emolcifras>{{Cite news |title=Minería ilegal en Chile: Las cifras detrás del tipo de extracción que terminó en un derrumbe fatal en Copiapó |last=Guzmán |first=José Tomás |date=2025-03-04 |url=https://www.emol.com/noticias/Economia/2025/03/04/1159207/mineria-ilegal-chile.html |access-date=2025-03-05 |work=Emol |language=es}}</ref>
==Water use== {{expand section|date=September 2025}} The Chilean Copper Commission projects that by 2033 the water supply to mining in Chile industry will consist of 71% of sea water and 29% from continental waters.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Water Congress 2025: Chile proyecta 71% de uso de agua de mar en minería al 2033 |last=Llontop |first=Gabriela |date=2025-09-17 |url=https://www.rumbominero.com/chile/water-congress-2025-chile-proyecta-71-de-uso-de-agua-de-mar-en-mineria-al-2033/ |access-date=2025-09-25 |work=Rumbo Minero |language=es}}</ref>
==Tailings== {{expand section|date=September 2025}} Chile hosts as of 2025 836 tailings deposits of which 627 are inactive and 53 are abandoned.<ref name=relavnme>{{Cite news |title=Relaves mineros en Chile: De pasivos ambientales a la minería circular |last=Venegas |first=Cristián |date=2025-09-17 |url=https://www.nuevamineria.com/revista/relaves-mineros-en-chile-de-pasivos-ambientales-a-la-mineria-circular/ |access-date=2025-09-21 |work=Revista Nueva Minería y Energía |language=es}}</ref> The remaining is ctailings, 129 are actively used by mines.<ref name=relavnme/> Some companies like Minera Valle Central and Compañía Minera del Pacífico processes the tailings of third parties. Minera Valle Central processes the tailings of El Teniente and recovers molybdenum and copper. Planta Magnetita of Compañía Minera del Pacífico processes tailings from Candelaria copper mine and some ore of Los Colorados iron mine.<ref name=conplantamag>{{Cite web |title=Planta Magnetita |url=https://consejominero.cl/nosotros/mapa-minero/planta-magnetita/ |website=Consejo Minero|access-date=2025-05-09|language=Spanish}}</ref><ref name=concolorado>{{Cite web |title=Mina Los Colorados |url=https://consejominero.cl/nosotros/mapa-minero/mina-los-colorados/ |website=Consejo Minero|access-date=2025-05-09|language=Spanish}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Planta Magnetita, el mayor proyecto de economía circular minera en Chile |url=https://www.cmp.cl/planta-magnetita-el-mayor-proyecto-de-economia-circular-minera-en-chile// |date=2022-04-27 |access-date=2025-08-18 |website=cmp.cl |language=es}}</ref><ref name=circular>{{Cite web |title=Planta Magnetita, un ejemplo de que la economía circular es un buen negocio |url=https://www.paiscircular.cl/economia-circular/planta-magnetita-un-ejemplo-de-que-la-economia-circular-es-un-buen-negocio/ |last=Antón Cerda |first=Emma |date=2022-09-13 |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=País Circular |language=es}}</ref>
From 1978 to 2010 Planta de Pellets in Huasco disposed its tailings legally in the sea, being the only marine disposal of tailings in Chile.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Minera en Huasco pone fin a años de contaminación marina: se termina la disposición de relaves en el mar |date=2019-03-28 |url=https://laderasur.com/articulo/minera-en-huasco-pone-fin-anos-de-contaminacion-marina-se-termina-la-disposicion-de-relaves-en-el-mar/ |access-date=2025-09-21 |work=Ladera Sur |language=es}}</ref>
==History== {{main|History of mining in Chile}} The history of mining in Chile spans more than thousand years, with early copper mining in Chiquicamata dating to the 6th century<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1007/s11837-004-0256-6 | title=The production of copper in 6th century Chile's chuquicamata mine | year=2004 | last1=Fuller | first1=David R. | journal=JOM | volume=56 | issue=11 | pages=62–66 | bibcode=2004JOM....56k..62F | s2cid=137666853}}</ref> and cultures and groups such as the El Molle, Diaguita and Mapuche mining or using gold adornments well before the Inca invasion in the 15th century.<ref name=indag2021>{{Cite journal |title=Indagaciones en torno al significado del oro en la cultura mapuche. Una exploración de fuentes y algo más |journal=Estudios Atacameños |url=https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0718-10432021000100309&script=sci_arttext&tlng=en |last1=Payàs Puigarnau |first1=Getrudis |date=2021-12-15 |volume=67 |last2=Villena Araya |first2=Belén |doi=10.22199/issn.0718-1043-2021-0028 |s2cid=244279716 |language=Spanish |trans-title=Inquiries on the Meaning of Gold in Mapuche Culture. A review of sources and something more|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="treinta" /> The successive establishment of Inca and Spanish rule in the northern half of Chile intensified mining and brought new techniques to the industry. In the early Spanish period (1542–1600) there was significant mining of gold placers which fueled Spanish–Mapuche conflict climaxing with a collapse of Spanish rule in the foremost gold district and a reorentation of Spanish economy towards agriculture.<ref name=Zavala2014>{{cite book |last=Zavala C. |first=José Manuel |date=2014|editor-last=Dillehay|editor-first=Tom |title=The Teleoscopic Polity|chapter=The Spanish-Araucanian World of the Purén and Lumaco Valley in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries |publisher=Springer |pages=55–73 |isbn=978-3-319-03128-6 |editor-link=Tom Dillehay }}</ref><ref name=placer19/><ref name="villalobosHacienda">Villalobos ''et al''. 1974, pp. 160–165.</ref> Gold, silver and copper mining had a resurgence in the late colonial period (18th century).<ref name=villalobosMining>Villalobos ''et al''. 1974, pp. 226–227.</ref> Exports of silver and copper were instrumental to finance the Chilean War of Independence (1810–1826)<ref name=Cortes2017p25>{{Cite book|title=Chañarcillo, cuando de las montañas brotó la plata|last=Cortés Lutz|first=Guillermo|publisher=Museo Regional de Atacama|series=Cuadernos de Historia |year=2017|volume=II|language=es|url=https://www.museodeatacama.gob.cl/sites/www.museodeatacama.gob.cl/files/images/articles-88574_archivo_01.pdf|edition=|page=25}}</ref> and then to prevent Chile defaulting in its independence debt the 1830s and 1840s.<ref name=perez2015>{{Cite book |title=Fiscalidad, integración social y política exterior en el pensamiento liberal atlántico (1810-1930) |last=Pérez Herrero |first=Pedro |year=2015 |isbn=978-84-9123-174-5 |pages=237–238 |language=Spanish |editor-last=Pérez Herrero |editor-first=Pedro |chapter=El orden portaliano (1830-1840) |editor-last2=Sanz |editor-first2=Eva}}</ref> In the 19th century Chile was a major producer of silver (1830s to 1850s) and copper (1850s to 1870s),{{sfn|Sutulov|1975|p=3}}{{sfn|Camus|2005|p=233}} but towards the end of the century mining of gold, silver and copper were in decline.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Llamado a un fabuloso porvenir. Explotaciones auríferas y poblamiento en el desierto de Atacama: el mineral de El Guanaco y la Placilla de Aguada de Cachinal, 1880-1930 |journal=Cuadernos de Historia |last=Godoy Orellana |first=Milton |url=https://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0719-12432019000200009&script=sci_arttext |volume=51 |issue= |year=2019 |trans-title=Called to a fabulous future. Gold mining and settlement in the Atacama Desert: The Guanaco Ore and the Placilla Aguada de Cachinal, 1880-1930 |language=es |doi=10.4067/S0719-12432019000200009|doi-access=free }}</ref> An exception to this was the Tierra del Fuego gold rush (1883–1906) in southernmost Chile. Coal and iron mining in Chile took off in the mid-19th century and early 20th century respectively. From 1870 to the 1930 nitrate mining in the far north was an immerse source of wealth and employment in Chile.<ref name=memsalitre/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cómo se vivió en las oficinas salitreras |url=https://www.museodeantofagasta.gob.cl/colecciones/como-se-vivio-en-las-oficinas-salitreras |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Museo de Antofagasta |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Epic of Latin America |last=Crow |first=John A. |publisher=University of California Press |year=1992 |isbn=0-520-078683 |edition=4th |page=647 |chapter=Chile: Democracy of the Oligarchy |quote=Between 1880 and 1890 the production of nitrate more than tripled, and within that same ten-year period Chilean national revenues jumped from fifteen million to sixty million pesos. Chile actually felt four times as rich as she had been before the war began. |orig-date=1946}}</ref> Modern copper mining in Chile begun in the 1900s and 1910s with the arrival of companies from the United States which were fully nationalized by 1971 under the state-owned copper company Codelco.{{sfn|Sutulov|1975|p=31}}{{sfn|Salazar|Pinto|2002|pp=124-125}}{{sfn|Camus|2005|p=245}} A new wave of foreign investment of mining begun following the Decreto Ley 600 law of 1974 and by the 1990s the country was experiencing a new mining boom.<ref name=ximena>{{Cite journal |title=Inversión extranjera y minería privada en contexto dictatorial: El Decreto Ley 600 y la desnacionalización del cobre. Chile, 1974-1977 |journal=Tiempo Histórico |last=Ortiz Morales |first=Ximena |url=https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02455762/document |volume=19|trans-title=Foreign investment and private mining in a dictatorial context: Decree Law 600 and the denationalization of copper. Chile, 1974-1977 |language=es |pages=141–157|year=2020}}</ref><ref name=valenz>{{Cite book |title=La Gran Minería en Chile |last=Valenzuela Rabí |first=Iván |publisher=Ocho Libros |year=2014 |isbn=978-956-335-192-7 |pages=135–152 |language=Spanish |trans-title=Large Scale Mining in Chile |chapter=El boom minero de los 90 |trans-chapter=The mining boom of the 90s}}</ref>
==See also== * Geology of Chile * Law on Mining Concessions * List of copper smelters in Chile
== Notes == {{notelist-ua}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Bibliography== *{{Cite report |title=Distritos productivos para el desarrollo de la minería chilena |url=https://www.sonami.cl/v2/publicaciones/distritos-productivos-desarrollo-mineria-chilena/ |trans-title=Productive districts for the development of mining in Chile|language=es |year=2025 |publisher=Centro de Estudios y Documentación Mineros de SONAMI|last=Andrade|first=Sebastián|first2=Felipe|last2=Muñoz|last3=Salazar|first3=Reinaldo}} * {{cite book |last=Camus |first=Francisco |date=2005|chapter=La minería y la evolución de la exploración en Chile |title=Minería y desarrollo |editor-last=Lagos |editor-first=Gustavo|editor-link=Gustavo Lagos |language=es |location=Santiago, Chile |publisher=Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile |pages=229–270 |isbn=956-14-0844-9}} * {{cite book |last=Ceballos |first=Juan Ignacio |last2=Tilton|first2=John |date=2005|chapter=Análisis del Fondo de Compensación del Cobre Chile |title=Minería y desarrollo |editor-last=Lagos |editor-first=Gustavo|editor-link=Gustavo Lagos |language=es |location=Santiago, Chile |publisher=Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile |pages=295–318 |isbn=956-14-0844-9}} *{{Cite report |title=Informe Consumo de Agua en la Minería del Cobre: Actualización al año 2023 |url=https://www.cochilco.cl/web/download/816/2024/12669/consumo-de-agua-en-la-mineria-del-cobre-2023.pdf |access-date=2025-05-04 |year=2024 |language=es|author=COCHILCO}} *{{Cite report |title=Caracterización de la mediana minería en Chile |url=https://www.sonami.cl/v2/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/caracterizacion-mm.pdf |trans-title=Characterization of medium-scale mining in Chile|language=es |year=2023 |publisher=Centro de Estudios y Documentación Mineros de SONAMI|last=Guajardo|first=Juan Carlos|first2=Matías|last2=Marañón|first3=Juan Cristóbal|last3=Ciudad|first4=Bastián|last4=del Mauro|first5=Muñóz|last5=Nicolás|first6=Ulloa|last6=Fiorella}} *{{Cite book |title=Historia de la minería del hierro en Chile|language=Spanish |last=Millán |first=Augusto |publisher=Editorial Universitaria |year=1999 |isbn=956-11-1499-2 |location=Santiago de Chile|p=}} *{{cite book |last=Sagredo |first=Rafael |date=2005|chapter=Chile, país minero |title=Minería y desarrollo |editor-last=Lagos |editor-first=Gustavo|editor-link=Gustavo Lagos |language=es |location=Santiago, Chile |publisher=Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile |pages=271–294 |isbn=956-14-0844-9}} *{{cite book | last1 = Salazar | first1 = Gabriel | author1-link = Gabriel Salazar | last2 = Pinto | first2 = Julio | author2-link = Julio Pinto | year = 2002 | title = Historia contemporánea de Chile III. La economía: mercados empresarios y trabajadores. | publisher = LOM Ediciones | isbn = 956-282-172-2}} *{{Cite book |title=El Cobre Chileno |last=Sutulov |first=Alexander |publisher=Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile |year=1975 |pages=1–62 |language=es |url=https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-98262.html |editor-last=Sutulov |editor-first=Alexander |chapter=Antecedentes históricos de la producción de cobre en Chile|author-link=Alexander Sutulov}} *{{Cite report |title=Estado del arte y potenciales recursos Co y Mn en Chile |url=https://bibliotecadigital.ciren.cl/server/api/core/bitstreams/46bb6767-93de-405d-a5d5-2aad3cc57adb/content |last=Townley |first=Brian |last2=Díaz |first2=Alejandro |last3=Luca |first3=Rodrigo |year=2017 |publisher=Advanced Mining Technology Center|language=es}} ** {{Cite report |title=Exploration and mining potential for cobalt mineral resources in Chile |year=2017b |url=https://www.corfo.cl/sites/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1475166637554&ssbinary=true |last=Townley |first=Brian |last2=Díaz |first2=Alejandro |last3=Luca |first3=Rodrigo}} (executive summary in English) *{{cite book|last1=Ulloa Urrutia| first1=Alfie|last2=Contreras Biekert|first2=José Luis|last3=Gana Aravena|first3=Joaquín|last4=Miranda Toledo |first4=Rodrigo|last5=Chauveau Gerber|first5=Paul|first6=Fernando|last6=Villalobos Valenzuela|last7=Farías Soto|first7=Javiera|title=Productividad en la Gran Minería del Cobre|chapter=|year=2017 |pages= |publisher=Comisión Nacional de Productividad|language=Spanish|isbn=978-956-7725-08-3}} *Villalobos, Sergio; Silva, Osvaldo; Silva, Fernando; Estelle, Patricio (1974). ''Historia De Chile'' (14th ed.). Editorial Universitaria. {{ISBN|956-11-1163-2}}.
==External links== {{commons category}} * {{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/more/la-fg-chile-copper17-2010mar17,0,7290617.story | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | title= Chile will tap copper fund to pay for quake reconstruction | author=Chris Kraul | date=March 17, 2010}} * [https://www.amchamchile.cl/UserFiles/File/Mining%20Industry.pdf Chile's mining industry, Amcham Chile] in 2006
{{Economy of Chile}} {{Americas topic|Mining in}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mining In Chile}} Category:Mining in Chile Category:Lithium mines by country