Copiapo

Copiapo grew on the silver strike at Chanarcillo in 1832, which made fortunes and paid for the railway to Caldera in 1851, and mining has run the city ever since. In August 2010 the San Jose copper and gold mine north of the city collapsed with thirty-three men roughly seven hundred metres below ground; they survived seventeen days before a borehole found them alive, and were brought up one by one through a rescue shaft on 13 October, with the operation broadcast worldwide. All thirty-three survived. The mine site can be visited, with a memorial and the rescue capsule replica on the ground.

History

The earliest traces of people in the Copiapó valley are thought to be about 10,000 years old, and before the Spanish the Diaguita lived here under Inca rule, leaving the remains of fortresses. The Spanish town was founded on 8 December 1744 as San Francisco de la Selva de Copiapó, named for the lush valley; after Juan Godoy found the silver of Chañarcillo in 1832 it became an important mining centre, the Copiapó-Caldera railway was one of the first in South America, and until the War of the Pacific it was Chile's northernmost city (Wikipedia, Copiapó).

Highlights

• A city built on the 1832 silver strike - and on mining since.
• The San Jose mine - where thirty-three men were trapped in 2010.
• Seventeen days before contact - and sixty-nine before the last man was out.
• A memorial at the mine - with a replica of the rescue capsule.

When to go

Year round. A full day.

What to expect

The city itself is functional rather than scenic and set up for mining business. The San Jose site is a drive out of town on gravel and has minimal facilities. The 2010 events are recent and personal for people here.

Nearby

Caldera and Bahia Inglesa are on the coast; Nevado Tres Cruces is east.

Key facts