Today, my EAP program took us on a mandatory fieldtrip to the El Teniente Copper Mine in Rancagua, about 2 hours away from Santiago. We we had to meet at 8am sharp at our central campus and we were out there all day (Till 7pm!) The one thing that I loved about it was that we got to wear miner's clothing (the helmet with head lamp, a reflective jacket, a tool belt, and huge boots) which was kinda fun.
However, our guide was terrible. He didn't speak loudly enough, he didn't wait for the group to catch up when we moved on to another part of the mine, and he didn't make sure that he had all of our attention. It was really disappointing for me because this man had lived on the mine as a child, and I feel like I could have learned so much more from his experience than I did.
Although I missed a lot of information, some of the things I did learn from the trip were that Chile is the world's number one copper exporter (the US is next in line) and it makes up a major part of its economic success. At this particular mine, El Teniente, there are hundreds of thousands of meters of tunnels running through the mountains and they will bring many more years of copper exports to Chile. This mine is the most technologically advanced in Latin America, and is extremely successful. There have been a few major accidents with many fatalities, but there has recently been updated safety measures to prevent future accidents.The mine runs for 24 hours a day and 365 days of the year, never stopping, to prevent cave-ins and also to keep the tunnels clean and clear for the workers and the copper. However, I'm a little bummed that I missed how copper is actually mined from the rocks (we did get to see a huge rock grinder at one point) and processed into the mineral that we use today.
At El Teniente, there is an old worker's camp, Sewell, where hundreds of workers and their huge families (up to 21 kids!!!) lived while working in the mines. It is currently unoccupied, but there is now a museum there and a cafeteria where workers and tourists eat lunch.
Here are some of the pictures and a video of the rock grinder that I took on the trip today, with my friends and I in the cool equiptment, and some of the scenery that we saw there.
Hope you enjoyed those! Meanwhile, back in Santiago, the weather is getting increasingly colder as winter continues to approach. School is going well, I have a paper and a test coming up in the next few weeks, so I will be studying a lot, but other than that, things are great! Hope everyone is well and enjoying some lovely spring weather!!
Love, Amara
No comments:
Post a Comment