El Teniente
Encyclopedia
El Teniente is an underground copper
mine
in the Chilean
commune of Machalí
in Cachapoal Province
, O'Higgins Region
, near the town of Sewell
, 2300 m (7,545.9 ft) above mean sea level
in the Andes
. Mining at El Teniente is reported to have started as early as 1819. Kennecott Copper Corporation ran the mine through a subsidiary company up until the Chilean nationalization of copper
and the formation of the state owned
copper mining company Codelco
who currently operates the mine. It is reported as "the world's biggest underground copper mine", and is the largest of Codelco's operations.
official, with exploitation beginning in 1819. The best ore was mined manually in what would be called the Fortuna sector, and transported by animal. In 1904 William Braden (an engineer
from New York
) and E.W. Nash formed the Braden Copper Company
, built a road for carts, and a concentrating plant. Chileans referred to the large scale mining operation as La Grande Mineria
In 1967 the Chilean government bought a 51% stake in the mine and founded Sociedad Minera El Teniente, and under this agreement a new concentrator was built, and the mine expanded its production to 63000 t (69,445.6 ST) per day. Braden became a subsidiary company of Kennecott Copper Corporation
, and on July 11, 1971 with the Chilean nationalization of copper
under President
Salvador Allende
and the formation of the Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (known as Codelco
), El Teniente became a state owned operation. The Chilean government was to pay Kennecott $92.9-million for the property. The mine has increased production to 100000 t (110,231.1 ST) of ore per day, and in 2006 the mine produced over 418000 t (460,766.1 ST) of copper.
The Vancouver
, Canada
based company Amerigo produces both a copper and molybdenum
concentrate from El Teniente's tailings
, and also has the right to treat higher grade tailings from a large abandoned tailings impoundment near to the El Teniente property.
leaders arrest for calling for an end to military rule in Chile. Between the three mines at least 3,300 workers and 37 labour leaders were fired for participating in the strike.
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
in the Chilean
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
commune of Machalí
Machalí
Machalí is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Machalí spans an area of and has 28,628 inhabitants . Of these, 26,852 lived in urban areas and 1,776 in rural areas...
in Cachapoal Province
Cachapoal Province
Cachapoal Province is one of three provinces of the central Chilean region of O'Higgins . Its capital is the city of Rancagua .-Geography and demography:...
, O'Higgins Region
O'Higgins Region
The VI O'Higgins Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It is subdivided into three provinces. It is named in honour of Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, one of Chile's founding fathers....
, near the town of Sewell
Sewell, Chile
Sewell is an uninhabited Chilean mining town located in the commune of Machalí in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region, on the slopes of the Andes, at an altitude between 2,000 and 2,250 metres. The town was founded in 1904 by the Braden Copper Co. to extract the copper in the El Teniente mine,...
, 2300 m (7,545.9 ft) above mean sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
. Mining at El Teniente is reported to have started as early as 1819. Kennecott Copper Corporation ran the mine through a subsidiary company up until the Chilean nationalization of copper
Chilean nationalization of copper
The nationalization of the Chilean copper industry commonly described as the Chilenización del cobre or "Chileanisation of copper," was the progressive process by which the Chilean government acquired control of the major foreign-owned section of the Chilean copper mining industry. It involved the...
and the formation of the state owned
Government-owned corporation
A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...
copper mining company Codelco
Codelco
CODELCO is the Chilean state owned copper mining company formed in 1976 from the foreign owned copper companies that were nationalised in 1971. The headquarters are in Santiago and the seven-man board of directors is appointed by the President of the Republic...
who currently operates the mine. It is reported as "the world's biggest underground copper mine", and is the largest of Codelco's operations.
History
According to legend the El Teniente mine was discovered in the 1800s by a fugitive SpaniardSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
official, with exploitation beginning in 1819. The best ore was mined manually in what would be called the Fortuna sector, and transported by animal. In 1904 William Braden (an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) and E.W. Nash formed the Braden Copper Company
Braden Copper Company
Braden Copper Company was an American company that controlled the El Teniente copper mine in Chile until 1967 when its copper holdings were nationalized.-History:...
, built a road for carts, and a concentrating plant. Chileans referred to the large scale mining operation as La Grande Mineria
In 1967 the Chilean government bought a 51% stake in the mine and founded Sociedad Minera El Teniente, and under this agreement a new concentrator was built, and the mine expanded its production to 63000 t (69,445.6 ST) per day. Braden became a subsidiary company of Kennecott Copper Corporation
Kennecott Utah Copper
Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation , a division of Rio Tinto Group, is a mining, smelting, and refining company. Its corporate headquarters are located in South Jordan, Utah, USA. Kennecott operates one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world in Bingham Canyon, Salt Lake County, Utah. ...
, and on July 11, 1971 with the Chilean nationalization of copper
Chilean nationalization of copper
The nationalization of the Chilean copper industry commonly described as the Chilenización del cobre or "Chileanisation of copper," was the progressive process by which the Chilean government acquired control of the major foreign-owned section of the Chilean copper mining industry. It involved the...
under President
President of Chile
The President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
and the formation of the Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (known as Codelco
Codelco
CODELCO is the Chilean state owned copper mining company formed in 1976 from the foreign owned copper companies that were nationalised in 1971. The headquarters are in Santiago and the seven-man board of directors is appointed by the President of the Republic...
), El Teniente became a state owned operation. The Chilean government was to pay Kennecott $92.9-million for the property. The mine has increased production to 100000 t (110,231.1 ST) of ore per day, and in 2006 the mine produced over 418000 t (460,766.1 ST) of copper.
The Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
based company Amerigo produces both a copper and molybdenum
Molybdenum
Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...
concentrate from El Teniente's tailings
Tailings
Tailings, also called mine dumps, slimes, tails, leach residue, or slickens, are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore...
, and also has the right to treat higher grade tailings from a large abandoned tailings impoundment near to the El Teniente property.
Labour disruptions
As of 2007 Codelco employed 17,000 direct-hire company employees and 28,000 contract employees across all their operations. There have been multiple labour disruptions at the El Teniente mine.1983
In 1983 El Teniente and two other Codelco mines closed when approximately 13,000 workers voted to strike "indefinitely" in protest of a unionTrade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
leaders arrest for calling for an end to military rule in Chile. Between the three mines at least 3,300 workers and 37 labour leaders were fired for participating in the strike.