mining
industry in Chile, however, is that of copper, which is found in the
provinces of Antofagasta, Atacama, Coquimbo, Aconcagua, Valparaiso,
Santiago, O'Higgins, Colchagua, Curico and Talca, but the richest
deposits are in the three desert provinces. Chile was once the largest
producer of copper in the world, her production in 1860-1864 being
rated at 60 to 67% of the total. Low prices afterwards caused a large
shrinkage in the output, but she is still classed among the principal
producers. Iron mining has never been developed in Chile, although
extensive deposits are said to exist. Manganese ores are mined in
Atacama and Coquimbo, and their export is large. The other metals
reported in the official returns are lead, cobalt and vanadium, of
which only small quantities are produced. Bolivian tin is exported
from Chilean ports. Among the non-metallic minerals are nitrate of
soda, borate of lime, coal, salt and sulphur, together with various
products derived from these minerals, such as iodine, sulphuric acid,
&c. Guano is classed among the mineral products and still figures as
an export, though the richest Chilean deposits were exhausted long
before the war with Peru. Of non-metallic products nitrate of soda is
by far the most important. Extensive deposits of the salt (called
_caliche_ in its crude, impure state) in the provinces of Tacna,
Tarapaca, Antofagasta and Atacama owe their existence to the rainless
character of the climate. Those of the first-named province have been
discovered since the war between Chile and Peru, and have greatly
extended the prospective life of the industry. The nitrate fields,
which lie between 50 and 100 m. from the coast and at elevations
exceeding 2000 ft. above sea-level, have been officially estimated at
89,177 hectares (344 sq. m.) and to contain 2316 millions of metric
quintals (254,760,000 short tons). The first export of nitrates was in
1830, and in 1884 it reached an aggregate of 550,000 tons, and in 1905
of 1,603,140 tons. The latter figure is apparently about the
production agreed upon between the Chilean government and the nitrate
companies to prevent overproduction and a resulting decline in price.
Nearly all the _oficinas_, or working plants, are owned and operated
by British companies, and the railways of this desolate region are
generally owned by the same companies and form a part of the working
plan