Los Bronces mine
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Santiago Metropolitan Region/Valparaíso Region | |
| Country | Chile |
| Coordinates | 33°08′42″S 70°16′16″W / 33.14500°S 70.27111°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Copper |
| Owner | |
| Company | Anglo American Sur |
The Los Bronces mine is a large copper mine located in central Chile, on the border of the Santiago Metropolitan Region and the Valparaíso Region. The processing plant is located at 3,300 m above sea level, with mining operations extending up to 4200 m above sea level. Los Bronces represents one of the largest copper reserves in Chile and in the world having estimated reserves of 3.13 billion tonnes of ore grading 0.32% copper.[1]
Mineralization at Los Bronces is thought to be due to its position at the intersection of two large fault systems. This favoured the rise of magma and the subsequent circulation of mineral-rich fluids.[2]
Following the Chilean nationalization of copper in the early 1970s stateowned company ENAMI came to own the mine which was by then known as Disputada de Las Condes. In late 1977 ENAMI sold the mine to Exxon for 93 million US$.[3] Exxon later sold the mine to Anglo American plc for 1300 million US$.[3]
In Los Bronces mining folklore tells of man known as "El Futre" (lit. "The Snob").[4] El Futre is said to be a formally dressed man who appear in drifts murdering or scaring workers in order to steal their salary.[4]
References
- ^ "Copper mines". angloamerican.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-02-02. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Piquer Romo, José Meulen; Yáñez, Gonzálo; Rivera, Orlando; Cooke, David (2019). "Long-lived crustal damage zones associated with fault intersections in the high Andes of Central Chile". Andean Geology. 46 (2): 223–239. doi:10.5027/andgeoV46n2-3108. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
- ^ a b Ramos, Marcela; Figueroa, Juan Pablo (2011-12-02). "Las desconocidas operaciones de Anglo que bloquean el acceso de Codelco a la propiedad de Los Bronces". Ciper (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-06-10.
- ^ a b Montecino Aguirre, Sonia (2015). "Futre, El". Mitos de Chile: Enciclopedia de seres, apariciones y encantos (in Spanish). Catalonia. p. 297. ISBN 978-956-324-375-8.