San Antonio de los Cobres is a small town of population 4,274 (per the 2001 INDEC census) in northwestern Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. It is the capital of the Los Andes Department of the Salta Province

Salta Province

Salta is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. It also surrounds Jujuy...

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The town is known for its high elevation of approximately 3,750 meters (12,300 feet) above sea level, being one of the highest elevations of any city or town in Argentina. It is located approximately 160 kilometres (99.4 mi) from the city of Salta

Salta

Salta is a city in northwestern Argentina and the capital city of the Salta Province. Along with its metropolitan area, it has a population of 464,678 inhabitants as of the , making it Argentina's eighth largest city.-Overview:...

 and 2000 kilometres (1,242.7 mi) from the capital, Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

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San Antonio de las Cobres takes its name from the nearby Sierra de Cobre, or Copper Mountain, which is rich in that mineral

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...

. Economic activity in the town is based on mining of the mineral-rich surrounding mountains, and weaving

Weaving

Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...

 using local llama

Llama

The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....

 fibers.
The town is also a stop along the famous train line, the Tren a las Nubes (Train of the Clouds).