Chuquicamata or "Chuqui" as it is commonly called, is the largest open pit copper mine in the world. It is located 250 km northeast of the city of Antofagasta in Chile. The mine is elliptical in form, with a surface of almost 8,000,000 m², and it is 680 m deep.

The place has been exploited since pre-Hispanic times. The word Chuquicamata comes from the Aymara language and refers to the first inhabitants of the zone. The territory where the mine is located passed to Chilean control and sovereignty due to the War of the Pacific and the subsequent treaties.

The first copper bar, during its contemporary history, was produced on May 19, 1915 by the US company Guggenheim Bros. The company continued the mining exploitation with the names Chilean Exploration Co, Chile Copper Co., and Anaconda Co., until copper mining was nationalised and statised during the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s.

Today, Chilean Copper Corporation (Codelco) controls the mine. In 2003 encroachment by the growing mine and increased enforcement of pollution regulations forced the dismantling of the city of Chuquicamata — founded as a mining camp — and workers and inhabitants were then relocated to the nearby city of Calama.

External link

• Codelco Chile - Chuquicamata division