Panama to Patagonia

by Charles M. Pepper

In the opening chapter I have stated that the Panama Canal in its ultimate economic influence will not affect the nitrates or be affected by them, because their life is limited to the infancy of the waterway, while, during the period of their existence that may remain after it is opened to traffic, the bulky nature of the cargo which must pay the tolls counteracts the possible shortening of the distance. It may develop that other commercial considerations will cause some diversion of the nitrate carrying-trade through the Canal, but this will be chiefly for the gulf ports and the Atlantic coast of the United States. It is not likely to become important, since the market for saltpetre fertilizers is mainly in Europe. England takes directly and for the Continent between 7,000,000 and 8,000,000 quintals annually, Germany about 1,000,000 more, and France 5,000,000 quintals. Other European countries import from 500,000 up to 2,000,000 quintals. The east coast of the United States imports 5,000,000 quintals, or not more than 15 to 20 per cent of the total production, though the consumption is a growing one and is stimulated by systematic advertising. This proportion may increase without materially lessening the cargoes of nitrates which will be transported through the Straits or around Cape Horn to Liverpool, Hamburg, and Havre.

After the nitrates, copper is the most productive source of mineral wealth, and is the most important element in metal mining. The output ranges from 30,000 to 35,000 tons each year. The heaviest output is in the northern region, where the outlet is through the ports of Coquimbo and Antofagasta, but the single district of Lota in the South has a larger output than either of them. It contributes from 7,000 tons upward in bars and ingots. The Guayacan mines in the Department of Ovalle have a similar output. In the district of Chuquicamata, which is in the volcanic Cordilleras, 160 miles from Antofagasta by the railway and 9,000 feet above sea-level, are half a dozen copper mines producing 18,000 to 20,000 tons of ore which averages 18 per cent. The area is 8 square miles of country rock of pure granite with true fissure lodes, and it is estimated that there are 15,000,000 tons of decomposed rock averaging one-half of 1 per cent of copper. In the Capopo district are a group of copper mines which have a monthly output of 2,500 or 2,600 tons of ore, the sulphides predominating in most of them.

The copper industry of Chile has been a reasonably profitable and steady one, and without doubt it is capable of a considerable expansion by the application of modern methods and the more general adoption of improved machinery. The bulk of the shipments is in the form of fine bar copper, though both regulus and copper ores are exported.

The coal mines are located in the Provinces of Concepcion and Arauco, the most productive veins being at Lota and Coronel. This is utilized on the railways and in local industries as well as in coaling vessels, but the output does not equal the demand, and Chile may be looked upon as an importer of coal for an indefinite period. There is lignite to the south toward the Straits, but its commercial value has not been demonstrated.

Iron ore has been found in the Province of Coquimbo and elsewhere, but the production is light. The government made valuable concessions to a French company which agreed to establish an iron industry in Valdivia.

The gold that exists in the North, where the lodes are quartz, and the lavaderos, or washings, in the alluvial soil of Tierra del Fuego are not likely to become important sources of national wealth, though new discoveries which prove worth working are reported from time to time.

In times past, Chilean silver mines have been quite productive. The most famous were the Chanarcillo and Chimbote in the Copiapo district, which a few years ago were declared to be worked out. A group in the Iquique region includes the mineral section of Huantayaja. The total output from this group during the ten years preceding 1892 was placed at $22,000,000. After that the production decreased, though it was said to average $400,000 annually. The depth of workings in these mines varies from 200 to 2,000 feet. The general character of the ore is chlorides, and the formation of the rock is porphyritic and calcareous. White silver about 95 per cent pure and the very rich ores are found in pockets near the contact of the calcareous porphyritic rocks. Near these mines is the mineral section of Santa Rosa which includes the Consequencia and the Pansio. The latter is said to have produced $1,600,000 during the last ten years.

In the Province of Antofagasta are the two silver districts known as Caracoles and Inca Caracoles. The former is 110 miles from the coast. These mines were discovered so recently as 1869. The lodes were of extraordinary richness. The ores were chiefly chlorides, iodides, and mixtures of chlorides and sulphides. The ore deposits were superficial, and the ore generally was found in pockets. The shafts were from 300 to 600 feet deep, though one of them had a depth of 2,500 feet. Deep mining was abandoned, as it was shown that the veins split up into small fissures. The output of the Caracoles group was estimated at 60,000,000 ounces of fine silver up to the time when the mines were practically abandoned. At present the output is said not to exceed a few thousand ounces.

The Inca Caracoles mines are situated near the town of Calama, 150 miles from the port of Antofagasta. The country rock is porphyry, and the lodes range from 3 to 6 feet in width. The ore is chiefly chloride, and averages 40 ounces to the ton. Heavy freights and the absence of water have prevented the development of this group, and the prospective output cannot be accurately estimated. However, it seems to have great possibilities.

Neither copper nor silver ever will suffice to make up the deficiency in the national wealth caused by the gradual exhaustion of the nitrate beds, yet increased transportation facilities and the application of the newer processes give promise of a revival of the mineral industry and an appreciable addition to the productive resources of the country.