Lo Aguirre
Lo Aguirre | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Santiago Metropolitan Region | |
| Country | Chile |
| Coordinates | 33°26′46.77″S 70°55′16.77″W / 33.4463250°S 70.9213250°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Copper |
| History | |
| Opened | 1980 |
| Closed | 2000 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Nueva Pudahuel |
Lo Aguirre is a medium-sized copper mine located west of Santiago in central Chile.[1] The copper deposit is of stratabound type and formed during a time of extensional tectonics in what is now the Chilean Coast Range in the Jurassic and Cretaceous.[1] The mile lies at elevation between 500 and 700 m a.s.l.[1] In the late 1980s Lo Aguirre became a commercial solvent-extraction-based operation using bioleaching. It became Chile's first mine to achieve this despite a previous attempt at Chuquicamata in the early 1970s.[2][3] The mine begun operations in November 1980 and closed in 2000 but the procedures associated to the closure lasted until 2016.[1][3] The mine was known for being the mine that was closest to Chile's capital Santiago.[3]
The mine existed in the 18th century when Jesuits mined copper oxides from it.[1] Mining and exploration activity in it started again in 1865 and lasted until 1924.[1] In the last eight years of activity the mine was owned by Santiago Mining Co, a subsidiary of Anaconda Copper.[1]
There are three main mineralized orebodies in Lo Aguirre known as Principal, Amanda and Milagro.[1] Geologically the ore deposit of Lo Aguirre is similar to the deposits of Michilla, Mantos Blancos and El Soldado.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Saric, Nicolas; Kreft, Carlos; Huete, Carlos (2003). "Geología del yacimiento Lo Aguirre, Chile" [Geology of Lo Aguirre copper deposit, Chile]. Revista Geológica de Chile (in Spanish). 30 (2): 317–331. doi:10.4067/S0716-02082003000200010.
- ^ Domic, Esteban M. (2007). "A Review of the Development and Current Status of Copper Bioleaching Operations in Chile: 25 Years of Successful Commercial Implementation". In Rawlings, D.E; Johnson, B.D. (eds.). Biomining. Springer. ISBN 3-540-34909-X.
- ^ a b c Sottorff, Sebastián (2016-10-17). "Finaliza cierre de mina Lo Aguirre; autoridades analizan instalar un parque". El Mercurio (in Spanish).