Dwarfed by "Tonka" Trucks

The Cost of Copper in Calama

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June 19th 2006
So our second stop in Chile took us only 1-hour from San Pedro, still within the bounds of the "El Loa" region, to the small city of Calama: famed mainly as a jumping-off point for trips to the huge (in fact the largest in the world) open-pit copper mine in nearby Chuquicamata (or just Chuqui, pronounced "Chucky", to the locals). Our first bus journey in Chile gave us a taste of the good things to ... read more

South America » Chile » Antofagasta Region » Calama

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Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while Araucanian Indians inhabited central and southern Chile; the latter were not completely subjugated until the early 1880s. Although Chile declared its ind... ... read more