Coal mining in Chile

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Zona Central Sur
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Zona Sur
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Zona Austral
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Location of selected mines and deposits.

In Chile, coal mining is restricted to a few places located in its southern half. Energy originating from coal stands for 11,6% of Chile's electricity consumption. [1] Currently the country is not considered a major producer of coal. [2]

Contents

The three zones of mining are Zona Central Sur (36–38° S), Zona Sur [upper-alpha 1] (39–42° S) and Zona Austral [upper-alpha 2] (51–54° S) in southernmost Chile. [1] [3] Most of the coal resources of Chile lie in Zona Austral at southernmost Chile. [4]

Coal districts of Chile
District [3] Sub-district [3] Coal-bearing formationsCoal age [5] [6] Sedimentary basinCoal grade [3] [4] Large-scale mining at present
Zona Central SurSector NorteItata Basin Sub-bituminous No
Sector Sur Curanilahue Formation, [4] Trihueco Formation Eocene Arauco Basin Bituminous No
Zona Sur Pupunahue Beds, Mulpún Beds, Cheuquemó Formation, Parga Formation Eocene or Oligo–Miocene Pupunahue-Mulpún Neogene Carboniferous Basin, Osorno–Llanquihue Basin Sub-bituminous No, mining ceased in the early 2000s
Zona Austral Loreto Formation Eocene-Oligocene Magallanes Basin Lignitic and Sub-bituminous No, mining in Invierno ceased in 2020 [7] [8]

Zona Central Sur

Interior of the El Chiflon del Diablo coal mine at Lota. Interior mina Chiflon del Diablo, Lota.JPG
Interior of the El Chiflón del Diablo coal mine at Lota.

Usage of coal from Bío Bío Region as fuel dates back to at least 1557 when, according to Diego de Rosales, governor García Hurtado de Mendoza stayed in Quiriquina Island. [3] Early British travelers had differing opinions on the economic value of Chilean coals, or more specifically, the coals of Zona Central Sur. While David Barry found the coals to be of good quality, Charles Darwin found them of little value. The British consul in Chile correctly predicted in 1825 that the area around the mouth of Biobío River would be a centre of coal industry. [9]

It was however not until the mid-19th century that large scale coal mining began in the region. [10] [3] The initial trigger of coal mining was the arrival of steamships to the port of Talcahuano. These steam ships, most of whom were English, bought initially the coal very cheaply and the exploited coal seams were easy to work as they laid almost at ground level. [11] The mining district of Biobío Region can be divided in two sectors: one south and one north of Biobío River. [3]

Sector Norte

In the northern sector the mine of Lirquén, which provided coal to the cement plant of "Melón" was once the most important one. The northern sector contains sub-bituminous coal. [3]

Sector Sur

The coals of the southern sector, i.e. those of Arauco Basin, are chiefly of bituminous nature. [3] Industrialist Matías Cousiño begun mining operations in Lota in 1852. [3] Coal mining transformed rapidly Lota, from being a sparsely populated frontier zone in the mid-19th century, into a large industrial hub that attracted immigrants from all over Chile well into the 20th century. [11] Lota's coal mines were nationalized by Salvador Allende due to civil unrest and heavy Socialist support, but privatized again under Augusto Pinochet. [12] Given a high density of geological faults that displace the coal beds and the thin nature of these (less than one metre) mining activity in Arauco Basin proved difficult to mechanize. [13] Traditionally the centre of coal mining in Chile, large-scale coal mining in Arauco Basin ended in the 1990s. [14] Despite the decline of the coal industry communities in the zone continue to identify with it. [11]

The following mines were at times active in Sector Sur of Zona Centro Sur: El Chiflón del Diablo, El Chiflón Costa, Mina Consolidada, Mina Chiflones Fortuna, Mina Manto Grande, Mina Socavón Victoria, Pique Anita and others. [3]

Zona Sur

The Zona Sur coal district spans the regions of Los Ríos and Los Lagos, roughly from the area of Valdivia to Chiloé Archipelago. The coals of the Zona Sur district are sub-bituminous. [3]

The geological context of the coals of Zona Sur is not fully understood as there are divergent views on the stratigraphy and the ages the coals. The study of the coals is hampered by the fact that there are few coal outcrops and attempted correlation between different localities has not been satisfactory. Age estimations vary. A common view is that the coals of Zona Sur are of Oligo-Miocene age being thus younger than those of Arauco Basin further north. Yet findings of foraminifers appear to indicate for older ages, that is Eocene. [5] The geological units containing economically significant amounts of coal are the Pupunahue Beds, the very similar Mulpún Beds, Cheuquemó Formation and Parga Formation. [15] [16] [17]

Some of the better known coal mines of Los Ríos Region are: Arrau, Catamutún, Ciruelo, Máfil, Mulpún and Pupunahue. [3] While these mines had occasional spurts in activity only Catamutún was in continuous operation in the 1940s–2001 period. [3] [1] Mining in Catamutún, the only active coal mine in Los Ríos Region at the time, halted after an underground fire in 2001. [1]

During a period of the 20th century the electric grid of the city of Valdivia was powered by coal from the mines near Máfil. [3] Starting in 2009 Antofagasta Minerals and Carbon Energy developed together an underground coal gasification project in the closed Mulpún mine, however the project was put on hold in 2013. [18] [19] [20]

Somewhat south, in Los Lagos Region, coal beds can be found in the geological formations of Cheuquemó and Parga. The thin coal beds of this last formation were subject of small-scale mining operations around the turn of the 20th century. [15]

Zona Austral

In Magallanes Region, Riesco Island is being investigated for new projects. [14] Coal was first discovered in Magallanes Region by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa who visited the Straits of Magellan in 1584. [21]

The following mines have been exploited in Zona Austral over the years: Chilenita, Chinita, El Chino, Estela, Elena, Fernández Rocuant, Invierno, Josefina, Loreto, Magdalena, Natales, Peckett, Punta Arenas, Servidora, Soledad, Tres Hermanos, Tres Pasos, Tres Puentes, Vulcano. [21] [22]

Notes

  1. ↑ Not to be confused with the natural region of Zona Sur.
  2. ↑ Not to be confused with the natural region of Zona Austral.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biobío Region</span> Region of Chile

The Biobío Region is one of Chile's sixteen regions. With a population of 1.5 million, thus being the third most populated region in Chile, it is divided into three provinces: Arauco, Biobío and Concepción. The latter contains its capital and largest city, Concepción, a major city and metro area in the country. Los Ángeles, capital of the Biobío Province, is another important city in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cañete, Chile</span> City and Commune in Biobío, Chile

Cañete is a city and commune in Chile, located in the Arauco Province of the Biobío Region. It is located 135 km to the south of Concepción. Cañete is known as a "Historic City" as it is one of the oldest cities in the country. The Battle of Tucapel and Pedro de Valdivia's death happened near the city's current location. Cañete was also an important location in the Arauco War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arauco Province</span> Province in the Bío Bío Region, Chile

Arauco Province is one of three provinces of the Chilean region of Bío Bío. It spans a coastal area of 6,366 km2 (2,458 sq mi) just south of the mouth of the Biobío River, the traditional demarcation between the nation's major natural regions, Zona Central and Zona Sur. The province originally covered the once-independent indigenous territory of Araucanía, but this was afterward divided into four provinces. It is devoted largely to agricultural pursuits. The capital Lebu is situated on the coast about 90 km (56 mi) south of Concepción with which it is connected by rail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronel, Chile</span> City and Commune in Biobío, Chile

Coronel is a Chilean city and commune, located in the Concepción Province of the eighth region of Biobío.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lota, Chile</span> City and Commune in Biobío, Chile

Lota is a city and commune located in the center of Chile on the Gulf of Arauco, in the southern Concepción Province of the Biobío Region, 39 kilometres south of Concepción, and is one of the ten cities (communes) that constitutes the Concepción metropolitan area. The city is mostly known for being the traditional centre of coal mining in Chile, albeit mining ended in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Unión, Chile</span> City and commune in Los Ríos, Chile

La Unión is a city and commune of the Ranco Province in the Los Ríos Region in Chile. It is situated approximately 40 km north of Osorno and 80 km southeast of Valdivia. Covering an area of 2,136.7 km2, it has a population of 36,447, of which 25,615 are considered part of the urban population, according to the 2012 census. The commune derived its name from the confluence of the Llollelhue and Radimadi rivers.

Invierno mine is a coal mine in Riesco Island, Chile, that was active from 2013 to 2020. The mine exported coal extracted from Loreto Formation to northern Chile and to other countries. The enterprise in charge of the project declared initially the works would occupy an area of 1500 ha representing 0.3% of the area of Riesco Island. Reportedly, it was initially projected to be the first of five coal mines in Riesco Island to be established by Von Appen and Angelini. The development of the mine included both the clearing of Magellanic subpolar forests and the reforestation of areas burned down during the Chilean settlement of Magallanes more than 100 years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lebu, Chile</span> City and commune in the Bío Bío Region, Chile

Lebu is a port city and commune in central Chile administered by the Municipality of Lebu. Lebu is also the capital of Arauco Province in Bío Bío Region. It lies on the south bank of the mouth of the Lebu River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Chile</span>

Agriculture in Chile encompasses a wide range of different activities due to its particular geography, climate, geology and human factors. Historically agriculture is one of the bases of Chile's economy, now agriculture and allied sectors—like forestry, logging and fishing—account only for 4.9% of the GDP as of 2007 and employed 13.6% of the country's labor force. Some major agricultural products of Chile include grapes, apples, onions, wheat, corn, oats, peaches, garlic, asparagus, beans, beef, poultry, wool, fish and timber. Due to its geographical isolation and strict customs policies, Chile is free from diseases such as Mad Cow, fruit fly and Phylloxera, this plus being located in the southern hemisphere and its wide range of agriculture conditions are considered Chile's main comparative advantages. However, the mountainous landscape of Chile limits the extent and intensity of agriculture so that arable land corresponds only to 2.62% of the total territory.

The Magallanes Basin or Austral Basin is a major sedimentary basin in southern Patagonia. The basin covers a surface of about 170,000 to 200,000 square kilometres and has a NNW-SSE oriented shape. The basin is bounded to the west by the Andes mountains and is separated from the Malvinas Basin to the east by the Río Chico-Dungeness High. The basin evolved from being an extensional back-arc basin in the Mesozoic to being a compressional foreland basin in the Cenozoic. Rocks within the basin are Jurassic in age and include the Cerro Toro Formation. Three ages of the SALMA classification are defined in the basin; the Early Miocene Santacrucian from the Santa Cruz Formation and Friasian from the Río Frías Formation and the Pleistocene Ensenadan from the La Ensenada Formation.

The White Earthquake was a climatic event consisting of intense winds, cold, snowfall and rain that occurred through southern Chile in August 1995. 7,176 people were left isolated as result of the heavy snowfall and three died. By August 16, an estimated 176,000 sheep were dead, and 800,000 were in "critical condition". Besides agriculture, the forestry sector was also paralysed. Along Chile Route 9, a number of cars and two buses with passengers were trapped in snow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilean silver rush</span> Silver rush in Chile (1830–1850)

Between 1830 and 1850, Chilean silver mining grew at an unprecedented pace which transformed mining into one of the country's principal sources of wealth. The rush caused rapid demographic, infrastructural, and economic expansion in the semi-arid Norte Chico mountains where the silver deposits lay. A number of Chileans made large fortunes in the rush and made investments in other areas of the economy of Chile. By the 1850s, the rush was in decline and lucrative silver mining definitively ended in the 1870s. At the same time, mining activity in Chile reoriented to saltpetre operations.

Catamutún is a coal mine and locality in Los Ríos Region, Chile. Catamutún is located 25 km away from the city of La Unión. Coal has been mined in Los Ríos Region since the 1930s and Catamutún begun in 1945 to be exploited by Compañía Carbonífera San Pedro de Catamutún, an enterprise which has since then expanded into limestone mining.

During most of Chile's history, from 1500 to the present, mining has been an important economic activity. 16th century mining was oriented towards the exploitation of gold placer deposits using encomienda labour. After a period of decline in the 17th century mining resurged in the 18th and early 19th century this time revolving chiefly around silver. In the 1870s silver mining declined sharply. Chile took over the highly lucrative saltpetre mining districts of Peru and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific (1879–83). In the first half of the 20th century copper mining overshadowed the declining saltpetre mining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arauco Basin</span>

The Arauco Basin is a sediment-filled depression –a sedimentary basin– in south-central Chile. In the context of plate tectonics it is classified as a forearc basin. The basin has an approximate area of 8,000 square kilometres (3,100 sq mi) and at its deeper parts the surface of its sedimentary fill reaches 200 metres (660 ft) below sea-level. The basin is interpreted as being part of an uplifted part of the continental shelf. To the west it bounds an active accretionary prism that lies next to the Chile trench and to the east it bounds metamorphic basement representing a fossil Paleozoic accretionary complex that has been intruded by the Coastal Batholith of central Chile.

Estratos de Pupunahue is the name given to the sedimentary strata of Oligocene-Miocene age that crop out in Pupunahue and Mulpún near Valdivia, Chile. Outside this locality Estratos de Pupunahue extends below the surface over a larger area. The thickness of the strata varies from a few meters to 530 meters. The strata were initially described by Henning Illies. The strata are made up of conglomerate, sandstone and mudstone. The clast of the conglomerates are made up of metamorphic rock and the disposition of the conglomerates varies from clast-supported to matrix-supported. The sandstone and mudstone contain layers of lignite coal that exceed 30 cm in thickness.

Cheuquemó Formation is a geological formation of sedimentary rock in south-central Chile. The sediments of the formation were deposited during the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene epochs. The formations lower sections are made up of conglomerate, then successions of sandstone, tuff and mudstone rich in organic material follows. The formation indicates that sedimentation occurred in an estuarine (paralic) and other non-marine (continental) environments. It contains fossils of the following genera: Mytilus, Cardium and Turritella. Stratigraphically it overlies the Bahía Mansa Metamorphic Complex and underlies the Miocene Santo Domingo Formation.

Mulpún is a coal mine and locality in Los Ríos Region, Chile. Mulpún lies in the commune of Máfil a few kilometers to the west of the Chile Route 5 and north of the Calle-Calle and San Pedro River.

Pupunahue is a coal mine and hamlet in Los Ríos Region near the towns of Máfil and Los Lagos. The coal beds exploited in Pupunahue belong to the Pupunahue Beds. Geologically the sedimentary rocks of the Pupunahue Beds containing coal lie in Pupunahue Basin, a sub-basin of the larger Pupunahue-Mulpún Neogene Carboniferous Basin. The coals of Pupunahue deposited during the Oligo-Miocene in an environment with moderate marine influence and certainly less marine influence than for the nearby Catamutún coals. In 2016 it was announced that the closed Pupunahue mine would become a national heritage site.

Loreto Formation is a sedimentary formation of Late Eocene age in the southernmost Magallanes Basin. It overlies the Leña Dura Formation and the contact with an overlying formation is not observed. From 2013 to 2020 its coals were mined in Invierno mine, Riesco Island.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Carbon Archived 2012-05-26 at the Wayback Machine . CNE. Accessed on September 10. 2012.
  2. ↑ "Coal Mining in Chile - Overview". Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Davis, Eliodoro Martín (1990). "Breves recuerdos de algunas actividades mineras del carbón". Actas. Segundo Simposio sobre el Terciario de Chile (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Departamento de Geociencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Concepción. pp. 189–203.
  4. 1 2 3 Hackley, Paul C.; Warwick, Peter D.; Alfaro, Guillermo H.; Cuebas, Rosenelsy M. (2006). "World Coal Quality Inventory: Chile" (PDF). World Coal Quality Inventory: South America (Report). USGS. pp. 90–131. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Finger, Kenneth L.; Encinas, Alfonso (2009). "Recognition and implications of globigerinathekids (Eocene planktic foraminifera) in coal-bearing successions of the forearc of south-central Chile (37º45'-41º50'S)". Ameghiniana . 46 (2).
  6. ↑ Torres, T.; Meón, H.; Otero, R.; Galleguillos, H. (2009), Palinoflora y macroflora de la Formación Loreto, Punta Arenas, Región de Magallanes, Chile (PDF), XII Congreso Geológico Chileno, pp. 1–4, retrieved 2019-02-15
  7. ↑ González Encina, Verónica (2022-03-08). "Copec concreta la venta de su participación en Mina Invierno". Reporte Minero (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  8. ↑ El Espectador (2021-04-18). "A un año del cierre de Mina Invierno". El Pingüino (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  9. ↑ Mazzei de Grazia, Leonardo (1997). "Los Británicos y el carbón en Chile" (PDF). Atenea (in Spanish): 137–167.
  10. ↑ Endlicher, Wilfried. 1986. Desarrollo Histórico-genético y División Funcional del Centro Carbonífero [ permanent dead link ]. Revista de Geografía Norte Grande .
  11. 1 2 3 Vivallos Espinoza, Carlos; Brito Peña, Alejandra (2010). "Inmigración y sectores populares en las minas de carbón de Lota y Coronel (Chile 1850-1900)" [Immigration and popular sectors in the coal mines of Lota and Coronel (Chile 1850-1900)]. Atenea (in Spanish). 501: 73–94.
  12. ↑ Clifford Krauss, Chile's Leader Remains Socialist but Acts Like Pragmatist, Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company. December 10, 2001, Monday, Late Edition - Final Archived March 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Carbón mantiene su sitial en Chile
  14. 1 2 Explotacion Reservas. CNE. Accessed on September 10. 2012.
  15. 1 2 Elgueta, Sara; Le Roux, Jacobus; Duhart, Paul; McDonough, Michael; Urqueta, Esteban (2000). Estratigrafía y sedimentología de la cuencas terciarias de la Región de Los Lagos (39-41°30'S) (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería. pp. 15–16. ISSN   0020-3939.
  16. ↑ Alfaro, G.; Gantz, E.; Magna, O. (1990). "El yacimiento de carbón Catamutún (La Unión)". Actas. Segundo Simposio sobre el Terciario de Chile (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Departamento de Geociencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Concepción. pp. 11–28.
  17. ↑ Villablanca, D.; Alfaro, G.; Quinzio, L.A. (2003). Sedimentología de la cuenca carbonífera Neógena de Pupunahue-Mulpún, X Región de Los Lagos, Chile (PDF). 10° Congreso Geológico Chileno (in Spanish). Concepción: Departamento de Geociencias, Universidad de Concepción. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 5, 2017.
  18. ↑ Proyecto Gasificará el Carbón para Generar Energía Eléctrica
  19. ↑ Hernán Scandizzo (31 December 2016). "Carbón 2.0, otro capítulo de la saga no convencional" [Coal 2.0, another chapter of the non-conventional energy saga] (in Spanish). Rebelion.org . Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  20. ↑ Socio australiano busca vender el 30% de proyecto de gas en Valdivia al grupo Luksic
  21. 1 2 Martinic, Mateo (2004). "La minería del carbón en Magallanes entre 1868 - 2003". Historia (in Spanish). 31 (1): 129–167.
  22. ↑ Llegaron cargadores de barcos para puerto de Mina Invierno Archived 2012-08-14 at the Wayback Machine . La Prensa Austral. August 12, 2012.
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