Collahuasi mine
Copper mine in Chile
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Collahuasi or Ujina mine is a large copper mine located at 4,200 m (13,800 ft) altitude in the north of Chile in the Tarapaca Region. Collahuasi represents one of the largest copper reserves in Chile and in the world having estimated reserves of 3.93 billion tonnes of ore grading 0.66% copper.[1] It lies about 15 km east of the copper mine of Quebrada Blanca.[2]
 Collahuasi mine | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Region | Tarapacá Region |
| Country | Chile |
| Coordinates | 20°59′29.19″S 68°38′19″W |
| Production | |
| Products | Copper Molybdenum |
| Owner | |
| Company | Compañía Minera Doña Inés de Collahuasi
|
The mine produced 560,000 tonnes of copper in 2018, making it one of the world's largest copper mines.[3]
The ore concentrate produced in Collahuasi mine contain about 41% chalcopyrite, 18% chalcocite, 16% pyrite and 4% pyrrhotite.[A]
In the 2020s the mine has faced difficulties relating to water scarcity and decreasing ore grades.[5]
An early period of mining in Collahuasi occurred from about 1905 until 1930.[2]
Climate
| Climate data for Collahuasi, elevation 4,800 m (15,700 ft) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) |
8.3 (46.9) |
9.3 (48.7) |
9.3 (48.7) |
5.9 (42.6) |
1.9 (35.4) |
3.0 (37.4) |
3.9 (39.0) |
4.0 (39.2) |
7.7 (45.9) |
9.6 (49.3) |
10.3 (50.5) |
7.1 (44.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.5 (38.3) |
1.7 (35.1) |
1.3 (34.3) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
−5.9 (21.4) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
0.0 (32.0) |
2.5 (36.5) |
−0.8 (30.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −1.5 (29.3) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
−7.0 (19.4) |
−10.4 (13.3) |
−9.1 (15.6) |
−8.3 (17.1) |
−8.4 (16.9) |
−6.3 (20.7) |
−5.7 (21.7) |
−2.7 (27.1) |
−5.7 (21.8) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 5.5 (0.22) |
5.1 (0.20) |
2.5 (0.10) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
4.5 (0.18) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
10.0 (0.39) |
2.5 (0.10) |
0.0 (0.0) |
5.0 (0.20) |
35.1 (1.39) |
| Source: Bioclimatografia de Chile[6] | |||||||||||||
Notes
- When dry and as weight percent.[4]