Mining in Chile

Authority| National Geology and Mining Service
Ministry of Mining
Production
Commodity|

* Lithium carbonate 220,256 tonnes
* Copper 5.3 million tonnes
* Gold 35.8 tonnes (1.15 million troy ounces)
* Iron ore 11,443.4 million tonnes
* Silver 1,262.3 tonnes (40.58 million troy ounces)
* Iodine 22,437 tonnes
* Lead 325 tonnes
* Zinc 22,059 tonnes
* Coal 121,570 tonnes

Year| 2023
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.[1] 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.[2]

Chile was, in 2024, the world's largest producer of copper,[3][4] iodine[5] and rhenium,[6] the second largest producer of lithium,[7] the third largest producer of molybdenum,[4] the seventh largest producer of silver,[4] and salt,[8] the eighth largest producer of potash,[9] the thirteenth producer of sulfur[10] and the fourteenth producer of iron ore[11] in the world. In the production of gold, between 2006 and 2017, the country produced annual quantities ranging from 35.9 tons in 2017 to 51.3 tons in 2013.[12]

In 2021 mining taxes stood for 19% of the Chilean state's incomes.[13] 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.[13] 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.[13]

The governance of mining in Chile is done by non-overlapping bodies; COCHILCO, ENAMI, the National Geology and Mining Service (SERNAGEOMIN) and the Ministry of Mining.[14] SONAMI and Consejo Minero are guilds associations grouping corporate mining interests in Chile.[15]

Some challenges of the Chilean mining industry come from overall mine aging, remoteness and harsh climatic conditions of mining in the high Andes,[A] and increased water demand coupled with water scarcity.[B]

## Copper

[edit]

Main article: Copper mining in Chile

El Teniente, an underground copper mine in the commune of Machalí in the Cachapoal Province (2005) Chilean copper miners

Chile is the world's largest producer of copper[3] 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.[20]

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.[21]

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.[22] This fund allows for more precise annual government budget planning given that copper prices can exhibit strong fluctuations.[23]

## Lithium

[edit]

Further information: National Lithium Strategy

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.[24] Until 2017, when it was surpassed by Australia, Chile was the over-all main producer of lithium.[25] Estimates show that Chile is expected to be surpassed also by Argentina and China in lithium production by 2030.[25] Lithium-expert Gustavo Lagos suggests that lithium production in Chile will by 2030 represent be about 8% of the world's total production.[26] 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.[27]

Most of Chile's lithium reserves are in Salar de Atacama and Salar de Maricunga,[24] and all lithium extracted in Chile as of 2023 comes from Salar de Atacama.[28] The only two lithium-extracting companies currently operating in Chile, SQM and Albemarle, have licences to extract lithium until 2030 and 2043 respectively.[28][29] In April 2023 Chilean government announced plans for nationalizing its lithium industry.[30] The state-owned copper company Codelco was commissioned by the government to negotiate nationalization with SQM.[29]

## Gold

[edit]

Main article: Gold mining in Chile

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.[31] Also in the same period 36% to 72% of the gold produced annually in Chile was a by-product of copper mining.[31] 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.[31]

Most of the economically viable gold deposits in Chile belong to two types of deposits; high-sulfidation epithermal and porphyry type.[32] Most of these deposits formed in the last 66 millions years (Cenozoic) in connection to magmatic activity in the Andes.[32] 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.[32] 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.[32]

Almost no mining of placer gold occurs today.[33] The placer deposits of some areas of difficult access in Patagonia are subject to sporadic small-scale illegal gold mining.[14] A 2019 study found that seven of Chile's ten best placer gold prospects lie around Cordillera de Nahuelbuta.[33]

## Iron

[edit]

Main article: Iron mining in Chile

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.[4] Production has risen from 6.8 million metric tonnes in 2010 to more than 10 million metric tonnes each year beginning 2021.[4] 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.[34] Compañía Minera del Pacífico (CMP) is largest iron mining company in Chile.[35] 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.[36] Compañia Minera del Pacífico has three main mines each with its own port for export.[37] 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.[37]

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.[38]

The Dominga project led by Andes Iron seeks to establish a new iron and copper mine near the coast of northern Coquimbo Region.[39] This project has proved controversial for political and environmental reasons.[39]

## Iodine and nitrate

[edit]

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.[40]

Nitratine is a composite of sodium nitrate (NaNO3) and potassium nitrate (KNO3). 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.[40] Mining nitrate in the Far North of Chile was arguably the main economic activity of the country from 1880 to 1930.[41]

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.[42][5] SQM and Cosayach are Chile's first and second largest iodine producers.[42][43] 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.[42]

## Other minerals

[edit]

See also: Coal mining in Chile and Chilean silver rush

Since the late 1970s, the production of gold and silver has increased greatly.[citation needed] 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[44] and Strait of Magellan areas.[citation needed]

In the 2005–2024 period more than half of the silver produced annually in Chile was a by-product of copper mining.[4]

There is no primary mining of cobalt in Chile with the last activity ending in 1944.[45] 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.[45] Cobalt is a potential by-product of iron and copper mining along the iron belt.[45] It is known to be found in considerable concentrations among discarded material –mainly tailings– of copper, iron and gold mining in Chile.[46] Capstone Copper's mines of Mantoverde and Santo Domingo are thought to be able to produce battery-grade cobalt.[47]

There is no manganese mining in Chile since 2009 when Empresa Manganeso Atacama ceased operations.[48] Until then about half of the Chilean manganese had been exported to Argentina, and mining was mainly done in underground mines.[48] Historically Corral Quemado and other areas of Coquimbo Region have produced most manganese in Chile.[49] 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.[49] Transport costs have been a comparative disadvantage for the commercialization of manganese mined in Chile.[49] The area around Taltal was second to Corral Quemado in importance in manganese mining in the 1940s.[49] Known manganese deposits are scattered along the length of Chile from Arica (18.5° S) to Valdivia (39.5° S).[49] 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.[50] In the regions of Coquimbo and Atacama manganese appear as stratabound layers in the Cretaceous volcanic and sedimentary formations of Arqueros and Quebrada Marquesa.[51] In Arqueros Formation it occurs in some locations together with stratabound copper.[51] By 1964 87% of the magnesium mined in Chile came from these formations in Coquimbo Region.[51]

Historically, coal mining had some importance in the southern half of country from the 1850s to the 1990s[52][53] with a brief revival in Invierno mine from 2013 to 2020.[54][55]

## Medium-scale mining

[edit]

Chañaral

Copiapó

Huasco

Andacollo

class=notpageimage|

Location of mining districts where medium-scale mining is dominant.[56]

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.[56] The mining districts of Chañaral, Copiapó, Huasco and Andacollo have most of their mining done by medium-scale mining companies.[56] The state-owned enterprise ENAMI has among its goals supporting medium-scale mining.[15] 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.[57]

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.[58] In that period the copper extracted by medium-scale mining increased each year starting from 256 kt in 2017 ato 313 kt in 2021.[58] Besides copper other medium-scale mining activity in Chile involve gold, iron, zinc and lead.[59] The amount and share of the gold mined by small and medium scale mining in Chile has declined significantly from 2003 to 2023.[31] In iron mining El Carmen mine near Chañaral is a leading medium-scale producer.[59] According to figures from 2013 all zinc and lead mining in Chile was done by medium and small-scale miners.[59]

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.[60]

## Small-scale mining

[edit]

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.[61] The number of artisan miners in Chile, often known as pirquineros, has varied widely over the years.[14] 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.[14] These miners are supported by ENAMI which processes copper ore it purchases at stabilized prices.[14][62] The levels of illegal mining in Chile are low relative to neighbouring countries.[63]

## History

[edit]

Main article: 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[64] 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.[65][66] 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.[67][33][68] Gold, silver and copper mining had a resurgence in the late colonial period (18th century).[69] Exports of silver and copper were instrumental to finance the Chilean War of Independence (1810–1826)[70] and then to prevent Chile defaulting in its independence debt the 1830s and 1840s.[71] In the 19th century Chile was a major producer of silver (1830s to 1850s) and copper (1850s to 1870s),[72][73] but towards the end of the century mining of gold, silver and copper were in decline.[74] 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.[41][75][76] 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.[77][78][79] 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.[80][81]

## See also

[edit]

* Geology of Chile
* Law on Mining Concessions
* List of copper smelters in Chile

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Many batteries used in mining have a limited performance in cold environments.[16] 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.[17][18]
2. ^ 20 of Chile's 24 desalination plants provide water for the mining industry.[19]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Centner, Charles William (1942). "Great Britain and Chilean Mining 1830-1914". The Economic History Review. 12 (1/2): 76–82\. doi:10.2307/2590393. ISSN 0013-0117. JSTOR 2590393.
2. ^ Andrade, Muñoz & Salazar 2025, p. 4.
3. ^ a b Copper production in 2024 by USGS
4. ^ a b c d e f Cifras actualizadas de la minería (Report) (in Spanish). Consejo Minero. 2025-03-01. p. 4.
5. ^ a b USGS Iodine Production Statistics
6. ^ USGS Rhenium Production Statistics
7. ^ USGS Lithium Production Statistics
8. ^ USGS Salt Production Statistics
9. ^ USGS Potash Product ion Statistics
10. ^ USGS Sulfur Production Statistics
11. ^ USGS Iron Ore Production Statistics
12. ^ Gold production in Chile
13. ^ a b c Cardemil Winkler, Magdalena (2023-04-04). Impactos socioeconómicos de la minería en Chile (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish).
14. ^ a b c d e Scholvin, Sören; Atienza, Miguel. "La formalización de la pequeña minería en Chile: logros y desafíos de la Empresa Nacional de Minería (ENAMI)". Investigaciones Geográficas (in Spanish). 66: 1–13.
15. ^ a b Ulloa Urrutia et al. 2017, p. 50.
16. ^ La mina eléctrica: Cómo la minería enfrenta el reto de las condiciones ambientales
17. ^ COCHILCO 2024, p. 3.
18. ^ COCHILCO 2024, p. 2.
19. ^ Rifo, Miguel (2025-06-30). "La urgencia de garantizar seguridad hídrica en Chile". Reporte Minero & Energético (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-07-01.
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42. ^ a b c Roche, Lindsey; Muhl, Marco; Finkbeiner, Matthias (2023). "Cradle‑to‑gate life cycle assessment of iodine production from caliche ore in Chile" (PDF). Vol:.(1234567890)The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 28: 1132–1141\. doi:10.1007/s11367-023-02200-x.
43. ^ "Algorta Norte busca estar entre los tres principales produtores de yodo". Diario Financiero (in Spanish). 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
44. ^ Meriches R., Juan (2006-03-31). "Aluminio: Emblemático proyecto Alumysa fue desechado definitivamente". Economía y Negocios (in Spanish). El Mercurio. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
45. ^ a b c Townley, Díaz & Luca 2017b.
46. ^ Fernández Montero, Gastón. "Perspectivas y oportunidades del «oro azul» para Chile". guiaminera.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-07-01.
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48. ^ a b Townley, Díaz & Luca 2017, p. 49.
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50. ^ Townley, Díaz & Luca 2017, p. 28.
51. ^ a b c Aguirre, Luis; Mehech, Sonia (1964). "Stratigraphy and Mineralogy of the Manganese Sedimentary Deposits of Coquimbo Province, Chile". Economic Geology. 59 (3): 432–435\. Bibcode:1964EcGeo..59..428A. doi:10.2113/gsecongeo.59.3.428.
52. ^ Davis, Eliodoro Martín (1990). "Breves recuerdos de algunas actividades mineras del carbón". Actas. Segundo Simposio sobre el Terciario de Chile (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Departamento de Geociencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Concepción. pp. 189–203.
53. ^ Explotacion Reservas. Comisión Naciona de Energía. Accessed on September 10. 2012.
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55. ^ González Encina, Verónica (2022-03-08). "Copec concreta la venta de su participación en Mina Invierno". Reporte Minero (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-06-08.
56. ^ a b c Andrade, Muñoz & Salazar 2025, p. 24.
57. ^ Ulloa Urrutia et al. 2017, p. 283.
58. ^ a b Guajardo et al. 2023, p. 22.
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61. ^ Andrade, Muñoz & Salazar 2025, pp. 6–7.
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63. ^ Guzmán, José Tomás (2025-03-04). "Minería ilegal en Chile: Las cifras detrás del tipo de extracción que terminó en un derrumbe fatal en Copiapó". Emol (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-03-05.
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65. ^ Payàs Puigarnau, Getrudis; Villena Araya, Belén (2021-12-15). "Indagaciones en torno al significado del oro en la cultura mapuche. Una exploración de fuentes y algo más" [Inquiries on the Meaning of Gold in Mapuche Culture. A review of sources and something more]. Estudios Atacameños (in Spanish). 67. doi:10.22199/issn.0718-1043-2021-0028. S2CID 244279716.
66. ^ Villela Olavarría, Daniela; Cantallopts Araya, Jorge (2017-05-01). A 30 años del Plan Aurífero Nacional, una revisión a la minería de oro en Chile (Report) (in Spanish). Vol. DE 08/2017. COCHILCO.
67. ^ Zavala C., José Manuel (2014). "The Spanish-Araucanian World of the Purén and Lumaco Valley in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries". In Dillehay, Tom (ed.). The Teleoscopic Polity. Springer. pp. 55–73\. ISBN 978-3-319-03128-6.
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69. ^ Villalobos et al. 1974, pp. 226–227.
70. ^ Cortés Lutz, Guillermo (2017). Chañarcillo, cuando de las montañas brotó la plata (PDF). Cuadernos de Historia (in Spanish). Vol. II. Museo Regional de Atacama. p. 25.
71. ^ Pérez Herrero, Pedro (2015). "El orden portaliano (1830-1840)". In Pérez Herrero, Pedro; Sanz, Eva (eds.). Fiscalidad, integración social y política exterior en el pensamiento liberal atlántico (1810-1930) (in Spanish). pp. 237–238\. ISBN 978-84-9123-174-5.
72. ^ Sutulov 1975, p. 3.
73. ^ Camus 2005, p. 233.
74. ^ Godoy Orellana, Milton (2019). "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" [Called to a fabulous future. Gold mining and settlement in the Atacama Desert: The Guanaco Ore and the Placilla Aguada de Cachinal, 1880-1930]. Cuadernos de Historia (in Spanish). 51. doi:10.4067/S0719-12432019000200009.
75. ^ "Cómo se vivió en las oficinas salitreras". Museo de Antofagasta (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-05-15.
76. ^ Crow, John A. (1992) [1946]. "Chile: Democracy of the Oligarchy". The Epic of Latin America (4th ed.). University of California Press. p. 647\. ISBN 0-520-078683. "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."
77. ^ Sutulov 1975, p. 31.
78. ^ Salazar & Pinto 2002, pp. 124–125.
79. ^ Camus 2005, p. 245.
80. ^ Ortiz Morales, Ximena (2020). "Inversión extranjera y minería privada en contexto dictatorial: El Decreto Ley 600 y la desnacionalización del cobre. Chile, 1974-1977" [Foreign investment and private mining in a dictatorial context: Decree Law 600 and the denationalization of copper. Chile, 1974-1977]. Tiempo Histórico (in Spanish). 19: 141–157.
81. ^ Valenzuela Rabí, Iván (2014). "El boom minero de los 90" [The mining boom of the 90s]. La Gran Minería en Chile [Large Scale Mining in Chile] (in Spanish). Ocho Libros. pp. 135–152\. ISBN 978-956-335-192-7.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Andrade, Sebastián; Muñoz, Felipe; Salazar, Reinaldo (2025). Distritos productivos para el desarrollo de la minería chilena [Productive districts for the development of mining in Chile] (Report) (in Spanish). Centro de Estudios y Documentación Mineros de SONAMI.
* Camus, Francisco (2005). "La minería y la evolución de la exploración en Chile". In Lagos, Gustavo (ed.). Minería y desarrollo (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile. pp. 229–270\. ISBN 956-14-0844-9.
* Ceballos, Juan Ignacio; Tilton, John (2005). "Análisis del Fondo de Compensación del Cobre Chile". In Lagos, Gustavo (ed.). Minería y desarrollo (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile. pp. 295–318\. ISBN 956-14-0844-9.
* COCHILCO (2024). Informe Consumo de Agua en la Minería del Cobre: Actualización al año 2023 (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-05-04.
* Guajardo, Juan Carlos; Marañón, Matías; Ciudad, Juan Cristóbal; del Mauro, Bastián; Nicolás, Muñóz; Fiorella, Ulloa (2023). Caracterización de la mediana minería en Chile [Characterization of medium-scale mining in Chile] (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). Centro de Estudios y Documentación Mineros de SONAMI.
* Millán, Augusto (1999). Historia de la minería del hierro en Chile (in Spanish). Santiago de Chile: Editorial Universitaria. ISBN 956-11-1499-2.
* Sagredo, Rafael (2005). "Chile, país minero". In Lagos, Gustavo (ed.). Minería y desarrollo (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile. pp. 271–294\. ISBN 956-14-0844-9.
* Salazar, Gabriel; Pinto, Julio (2002). Historia contemporánea de Chile III. La economía: mercados empresarios y trabajadores. LOM Ediciones. ISBN 956-282-172-2.
* Sutulov, Alexander (1975). "Antecedentes históricos de la producción de cobre en Chile". In Sutulov, Alexander (ed.). El Cobre Chileno (in Spanish). Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile. pp. 1–62.
* Townley, Brian; Díaz, Alejandro; Luca, Rodrigo (2017). Estado del arte y potenciales recursos Co y Mn en Chile (Report) (in Spanish). Advanced Mining Technology Center.
* Townley, Brian; Díaz, Alejandro; Luca, Rodrigo (2017b). Exploration and mining potential for cobalt mineral resources in Chile (Report). (executive summary in English)
* Ulloa Urrutia, Alfie; Contreras Biekert, José Luis; Gana Aravena, Joaquín; Miranda Toledo, Rodrigo; Chauveau Gerber, Paul; Villalobos Valenzuela, Fernando; Farías Soto, Javiera (2017). Productividad en la Gran Minería del Cobre (in Spanish). Comisión Nacional de Productividad. 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

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* Chris Kraul (March 17, 2010). "Chile will tap copper fund to pay for quake reconstruction". Los Angeles Times.
* Chile's mining industry, Amcham Chile in 2006

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Economy of Chile

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* 1997 Asian financial crisis
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