Huantemé
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Huantemé  Huantemé | |
| Atacama Region | |
| Country | Chile |
| Coordinates | 28°27′36.68″S 70°50′39.57″W / 28.4601889°S 70.8443250°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Iron |
| History | |
| Opened | c. 1952 |
| Closed | 1978 |
Huentemé is a closed iron mine in northern Chile about 15 km northwest of the city of Vallenar. 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 1950s Huantemé was the main mine exploited by Compañía Minera Santa Bárbara. The mining property was Compañía Minera Santa Bárbara's but this company paid a fee to exploit it.[1] In 1953 Hungarian immigrant Ladislao Darvasi was put in charge of the mine.[2] The mine remained active through the Allende administrations nationalization of iron mines in 1971 and closed in 1978.[3][4]
The iron ores at Huantemé have been deemed of good quality since it has ore grades of 66% iron and low contents of phosphorus and sulphur.[5] The ore is made of magnetite with gangue minerals of actinolite, calcite and quartz.[6] It is classified as a large deposit by the National Geology and Mining Service.[6] Its near-surface extent runs a length of 500 m,[5] and its shape has been described as irregular.[6] Host rocks are volcanic and marine sedimentary rocks, all dating to the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous.[6]
References
- ^ Millán 1999, p. 110.
- ^ Jancsó 2018, p. 73.
- ^ Millán 1999, p. 157.
- ^ Millán 1999, p. 159.
- ^ a b Millán 1999, p. 111.
- ^ a b c d SISTEMA DE INFORMACIÓN DE YACIMIENTOS MINERALES DE CHILE FICHA DEL YACIMIENTO N° 560 Huantemé (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). SERNAGEOMIN (published 2014-12-23). 2014-12-14.
Bibliography
- Jancsó, Katalin (2018). "Húngaros en la industria minera de Chile". Encuentros Europa-Iberoamérica en un mundo globalizado (in Spanish). Budapest: Centro Iberoaméricano, Universidad de Pécs. ISBN 978-615-5848-04-9.
- Millán, Augusto (1999). Historia de la minería del hierro en Chile (in Spanish). Santiago de Chile: Editorial Universitaria. ISBN 956-11-1499-2.