I have been in Chile for almost two weeks now and my spanish is still limited to basic greetings. The first leg of my trip to Antofagasta has come to an end and I know will join Janine in Santiago and venture into the bountiful wave ridden coast from Pichilemu to Conception. My time in Antofagasta was spent attending the SGA conference on ore deposit research. This included international researchers on ore deposits such as IOCG and copper porphyry. You may not have any idea what these are but they include the largest mines in the world. Here in Chile they account for almost all of the ore production and roughly 40% of global copper exports. Copper as you may know is vital in our daily lives and forms an electrical fabric that transports energy throughout our homes and lives.
Antofagasta is coastal city approximately 600 km north of Santiago in the heart of the Atacama desert. It is the main port of entry for goods in northern chile while the export of copper concentrate happens just north in Tocopilla. Following the conference a series of mine tours brought us to the coastal cordillera mountains where many copper mines are in operation. The chileans here are employed by the mining industry and so the city has grown significantly and is not as cheap as I expected. The students have been feeling the effects of this and pay US$ 500 per month to attend school which takes 6 years to get a general degree. The Students have been on strike for months now fighting for increased government spending (currently only 4% of GDP, 3% less then the UN expected norm).
So here are a few pictures from the first leg of my trip to Chile.
