El Carmen mine
| Location | |
|---|---|
  El Carmen | |
| Atacama Region | |
| Country | Chile |
| Coordinates | 26°24′35″S 70°18′48″W / 26.40962°S 70.31346°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Iron |
| Owner | |
| Company | Compañía Minera Carmen |
El Carmen is an iron mine in northern Chile about 50 km east of the port of Chañaral. The ore of the mine is one of various iron oxide-apatite (IOA) ores that are part of the north-south Chilean Iron Belt. In the 1960s the ore extracted at El Carmen was considered low grade and was therefore usually mixed with richer iron ores from other mines.[1] Alongside Cerro Imán, Huantemé and El Dorado, El Carmen is considered the basis for the medium-scale iron mining in Chile.[2]
The geology of the mine contain parts of massive magnetite ore as well as ore-rich gravels that are part of alluvial deposits.[3]
Part of the mine is an open-pit and part of it is made of underground workings.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Barrionuevo Barrionuevo, Raúl Armando (1969-06-11). Paralización de faenas en el mineral de hierro "El Carmen", ubicado en el departamento de Chañaral, provincia de Atacama.-Oficio (Report) (in Spanish). Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ Millán 1999, p. 192.
- ^ a b Even, George; Jaramillo, Ernesto (2012). "New Life for an Old Mine – Carmen, Chile". SRK. Retrieved 2025-05-16.
Bibliography
[edit]- Millán, Augusto (1999). Historia de la minería del hierro en Chile (in Spanish). Santiago de Chile: Editorial Universitaria. ISBN 956-11-1499-2.