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Mining edit

 
Chuquicamata, the largest open pit copper mine in the world

The beginnings of mining in Chile go back to the extractions made between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago, in an iron oxide mine in Taltal (mine SR15), the oldest in the continent.[1][2] Centuries later, the successive exploitation of coal in the south, silver in Chañarcillo and saltpeter in the north led to mining to play a major role in the Chilean economy.[3][4] Mining is present in 13 of the 15 regions of the country and extracts 25 different products. It is the main economic activity in the regions of Tarapacá, Antofagasta and Atacama, and it is of great importance in those of Coquimbo, Valparaíso and O'Higgins. In Magallanes, the exploitation of petroleum is of great importance for domestic supply.[5][6]

The main commercial product is copper, popularly known as «Chile's salary».[7] The country is the largest producer in the world,[8][9][10] satisfying 36% of the world market and it has 28% of the world's copper reserves.[11][8][9] The copper extraction represents 30% of Chilean exports (and covered more than 60% of them in 1970). The state company Codelco,[12] the largest copper company on the planet,[13] exploits some of the main Chilean deposits, as Chuquicamata and El Teniente, the largest open pit and underground mines in the world respectively.[14][15]

The exploitation of other resources such as iron, molybdenum, nitrate, gold and silver it is also important.[16] In addition, Chile has 21.9% of lithium reserves, and in 2012, 37% of the world production of this mineral was concentrated in the country.[17]

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Science and technology edit

 
Very Large Telescope (VLT)
 
Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA)

According to the number of scientific publications, Chile ranked fourth in Latin America and the thirty-eighth in the world in 2011.[18] In 2014, the country had the highest rate of scientific patents in South America: 13.52 per million inhabitants.[19]

Chile maintains twelve scientific research stations —four permanent bases, operational throughout the year, and eight temporary bases, operational in summer— and seven shelters in Antarctica.[20] In the Atacama desert there are more than a dozen observatories[21] —like Paranal (VLT), the most advanced and powerful astronomical complex on the planet,[22] ALMA, the largest astronomical project in the world,[23][24] and La Silla,[25] among others—. Chile holds 40% of the world's astronomical observation,[26] however, in the 2020s, the sector will develop other projects —like the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT),[27] the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST),[28] the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT),[29] and the expansion of ALMA—[30] that will make the north of the country concentrate nearly 70%.[31]

In biotechnology, biochemist Pablo Valenzuela stands out, who participated in the creation of the vaccine against the Hepatitis B virus, the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus, and the development of a process to produce human insulin from yeast. In addition, under his direction, scientists cloned and sequenced the AIDS virus.[32]

Since the 1990s, Chile has had artificial satellites: the FASat-Alfa (1995), the FASat-Bravo (1998) and the SSOT (2011).[33]

Chilean mining has generated technological innovation and contributions to the sector worldwide. State copper company Codelco has patented metallurgical and chemical processes, like the "convertidor modificado Teniente" (CMT, that allows to obtain copper with a lower cost of oil)[34][35] and the robotized mining pilot of the Gaby mine, which uses machinery handled automatically by means of softwares and georeferencing.[36] Also, Chile's high seismicity has fostered the development and application of anti-seismic technology in the larger works, as the damping between floors of skyscrapers using energy absorption and special beams.[37][38]

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References edit

  1. ^ Rodríguez, F. (May 20, 2011). "Estudio confirma que mina más antigua de América estuvo en Taltal" (in Spanish). La Tercera. p. 52. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ University of Chicago Press Journals (May 20, 2011). "Archaeologists uncover oldest mine in the Americas" (HTML). Retrieved May 21, 2011.
  3. ^ Morandé, Felipe (August 6, 2012). "Minería - ¿Sería posible un Chile sin esta actividad?" (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PHP) on October 5, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  4. ^ "Editorial: 200 años de tradición minera" (PDF) (349). Minería Chilena. July 2010: 13. ISSN 0716-1042. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 25, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2012. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ Nueva Minería (October 16, 2012). "Más de 25 minerales se extraen en Chile, y en tres es el primer productor mundial" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  6. ^ Anderson, Steven T. (May 2013). "2011 Minerals Yearbook - Chile" (PDF). Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  7. ^ Vásquez Iturra, Jorge (October 3, 2005). "La verdad de nuestro cobre, ¿el sueldo de Chile?" (HTM). Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  8. ^ a b Barreno, Jorge (February 19, 2012). "Chile, el mayor productor de cobre del mundo, y el que más reservas tiene" (HTML) (in Spanish). El Mundo. Retrieved July 3, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ a b Edelstein, Daniel L. (January 2012). "US Geological Survey: Mineral Commodity Summaries - Copper" (PDF). Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  10. ^ Toovey, Leia Michele (November 17, 2010). "The Top 10 Copper Producing Countries". Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  11. ^ International Copper Study Group (2007). "The World Copper Factbook 2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 11, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  12. ^ Ministerio de Minería (February 28, 1976). "Decreto ley 1350 de 1976" (HTML) (in Spanish). Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  13. ^ Goto, Shihoko (February 13, 2012). "Top 10 Copper Producing Companies". Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  14. ^ Codelco. "Operaciones - Chuquicamata" (HTML). Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  15. ^ Codelco. "Operaciones - El Teniente" (HTML). Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  16. ^ CIA (2011). "Natural Resources" (HTML). Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  17. ^ Comisión chilena del cobre - Dirección de estudios (2013). "Mercado internacional del litio (diciembre 2013)" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  18. ^ Scopus (2013). "Country Rankings" (PHP). Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  19. ^ Yáñez, Cecilia (June 13, 2014). "Revista Nature destaca logros científicos de Chile" (SHTML) (in Spanish). La Tercera. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  20. ^ Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (April 1, 2012). "Main Antarctic Facilities operated by National Antarctic Programs in the Antarctic Treaty Sea (South of 60° latitude South)" (XLS). Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  21. ^ Barreno, Jorge (November 11, 2013). "Chile, la tierra de las oportunidades para los astrónomos" (HTML) (in Spanish). El Mundo. Retrieved August 31, 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ European Southern Observatory. "Observatorio Paranal" (PHP). Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  23. ^ European Southern Observatory. "ALMA" (PHP). Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  24. ^ ALMA. "Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array". Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  25. ^ European Southern Observatory. "Observatorio La Silla" (PHP). Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  26. ^ Christiansen Z., Axel (June 12, 2012). "ESO da luz verde a telescopio más grande del mundo en Chile" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 13, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  27. ^ "Giant Magellan Telescope". Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  28. ^ "Large Synoptic Survey Telescope". Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  29. ^ Observatorio Europeo Austral. "The European Extremely Large Telescope" (HTML). Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  30. ^ National Radio Astronomy Observatory. "National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)". Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  31. ^ Diario Financiero (November 4, 2013). "Sofofa: inversión en sector astronomía ascenderá a más de US$ 4.400 millones a 2020" (in Spanish). Archived from the original (HTML) on December 2, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  32. ^ Thisischile (August 22, 2009). "Pablo Valenzuela Valdés" (in Spanish). Archived from the original (ASPX) on July 23, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  33. ^ The Satellite Encyclopedia (June 3, 2012). "Chile – Satellites launched". Archived from the original (HTML) on January 27, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  34. ^ Codelco. "Fundición – Proceso de fundición: del mineral al cobre puro – Convertidor modificado Teniente: sistema de fusión - conversión" (in Spanish). Archived from the original (HTML) on April 4, 2009. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  35. ^ OCL India Ltd. "Refractory Division - Teniente Converter" (HTML). Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  36. ^ Gogeometry. "Gaby Copper Mine and Komatsu Autonomous Haulage System (AHS)". Archived from the original (HTML) on May 11, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  37. ^ Colín, Lorena (February 8, 2011). "Chile "se blinda" contra los terremotos con tecnología propia" (in Spanish). Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  38. ^ Obaid C., Andrea (October 13, 2008). "Ingenieros chilenos desarrollaron tecnologías antisísmicas pioneras para edificios" (HTML) (in Spanish). Retrieved June 22, 2012.