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]
The three zones of mining are Zona Central Sur (36?38° S), Zona Sur
[A]
(39?42° S) and Zona Austral
[B]
(51?54° S) in southernmost Chile.
[1]
[3]
Most of the coal resources of Chile lie in Zona Austral at southernmost Chile.
[4]
Zona Central Sur
[
edit
]
Usage of coal from
Bio Bio Region
as fuel dates back to at least 1557 when, according to
Diego de Rosales
, governor
Garcia 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
Biobio 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 Biobio Region can be divided in two sectors: one south and one north of
Biobio River
.
[3]
Sector Norte
[
edit
]
In the northern sector the mine of
Lirquen
, which provided coal to the cement plant of "Melon" was once the most important one. The northern sector contains
sub-bituminous coal
.
[3]
Sector Sur
[
edit
]
The coals of the southern sector, i.e. those of
Arauco Basin
, are chiefly of
bituminous
nature.
[3]
Industrialist
Matias Cousino
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 Chiflon del Diablo
, El Chiflon Costa, Mina Consolidada, Mina Chiflones Fortuna, Mina Manto Grande, Mina Socavon Victoria, Pique Anita and others.
[3]
Zona Sur
[
edit
]
The Zona Sur coal district spans the regions of
Los Rios
and
Los Lagos
, roughly from the area of
Valdivia
to
Chiloe 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
Mulpun Beds
,
Cheuquemo Formation
and
Parga Formation
.
[15]
[16]
[17]
Some of the better known coal mines of Los Rios Region are: Arrau,
Catamutun
, Ciruelo, Mafil,
Mulpun
and
Pupunahue
.
[3]
While these mines had occasional spurts in activity only Catamutun was in continuous operation in the 1940s?2001 period.
[3]
[1]
Mining in Catamutun, the only active coal mine in
Los Rios 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
Mafil
.
[3]
Starting in 2009
Antofagasta Minerals
and
Carbon Energy
developed together an
underground coal gasification
project in the closed Mulpun 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
Cheuquemo
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
[
edit
]
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, Fernandez Rocuant,
Invierno
, Josefina, Loreto, Magdalena, Natales, Peckett, Punta Arenas, Servidora, Soledad, Tres Hermanos, Tres Pasos, Tres Puentes, Vulcano.
[21]
[22]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Not to be confused with the natural region of
Zona Sur
.
- ^
Not to be confused with the natural region of
Zona Austral
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Carbon
Archived
2012-05-26 at the
Wayback Machine
. CNE. Accessed on September 10. 2012.
- ^
"Coal Mining in Chile - Overview"
. Archived from
the original
on 2008-12-02
. Retrieved
2012-09-10
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
Davis, Eliodoro Martin (1990). "Breves recuerdos de algunas actividades mineras del carbon".
Actas
. Segundo Simposio sobre el Terciario de Chile (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Departamento de Geociencias, Facultad de Ciencias,
Universidad de Concepcion
. pp. 189?203.
- ^
a
b
c
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. p. 90?131
. Retrieved
February 23,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
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).
- ^
Torres, T.; H. Meon; R. Otero, and H. Galleguillos. 2009.
Palinoflora y macroflora de la Formacion Loreto, Punta Arenas, Region de Magallanes, Chile
, 1?4. XII Congreso Geologico Chileno. Accessed 2019-02-15.
- ^
Gonzalez Encina, Veronica (2022-03-08).
"Copec concreta la venta de su participacion en Mina Invierno"
.
Reporte Minero
(in Spanish)
. Retrieved
2022-06-08
.
- ^
El Espectador (2021-04-18).
"A un ano del cierre de Mina Invierno"
.
El Pinguino
(in Spanish)
. Retrieved
2022-06-08
.
- ^
Mazzei de Grazia, Leonardo (1997).
"Los Britanicos y el carbon en Chile"
(PDF)
.
Atenea
(in Spanish): 137?167.
- ^
Endlicher, Wilfried. 1986.
Desarrollo Historico-genetico y Division Funcional del Centro Carbonifero
[
permanent dead link
]
.
Revista de Geografia Norte Grande
.
- ^
a
b
c
Vivallos Espinoza, Carlos; Brito Pena, Alejandra (2010).
"Inmigracion y sectores populares en las minas de carbon 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.
- ^
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
- ^
Carbon mantiene su sitial en Chile
- ^
a
b
Explotacion Reservas
. CNE. Accessed on September 10. 2012.
- ^
a
b
Elgueta, Sara; Le Roux, Jacobus; Duhart, Paul; McDonough, Michael; Urqueta, Esteban (2000).
Estratigrafia y sedimentologia de la cuencas terciarias de la Region de Los Lagos (39-41°30'S)
(in Spanish). Santiago, Chile:
Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria
. pp. 15?16.
ISSN
0020-3939
.
- ^
Alfaro, G.; Gantz, E.; Magna, O. (1990). "El yacimiento de carbon Catamutun (La Union)".
Actas
. Segundo Simposio sobre el Terciario de Chile (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Departamento de Geociencias, Facultad de Ciencias,
Universidad de Concepcion
. pp. 11?28.
- ^
Villablanca, D.; Alfaro, G.; Quinzio, L.A. (2003).
Sedimentologia de la cuenca carbonifera Neogena de Pupunahue-Mulpun, X Region de Los Lagos, Chile
(PDF)
. 10° Congreso Geologico Chileno (in Spanish). Concepcion: Departamento de Geociencias, Universidad de Concepcion. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on February 5, 2017.
- ^
Proyecto Gasificara el Carbon para Generar Energia Electrica
- ^
Hernan Scandizzo (31 December 2016).
"Carbon 2.0, otro capitulo de la saga no convencional"
[Coal 2.0, another chapter of the non-conventional energy saga] (in Spanish).
Rebelion.org
. Retrieved
16 January
2017
.
- ^
Socio australiano busca vender el 30% de proyecto de gas en Valdivia al grupo Luksic
- ^
a
b
Martinic, Mateo
(2004).
"La mineria del carbon en Magallanes entre 1868 - 2003"
.
Historia
(in Spanish).
31
(1): 129?167.
- ^
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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Coal types by grade
(lowest to highest)
| | |
---|
Coal combustion
| |
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Coal mining
| |
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Note: [1] Peat is considered a precursor to coal. Graphite is only technically considered a coal type.
|