Coal mining in Chile

In Chile, coal mining is restricted to a few places located in its southern half. Energy originating from coal stands for 11,6% of Chile's electricity consumption. Currently the country is not considered a major producer of coal.

The three zones of mining are Zona Central Sur (36–38° S), Zona Sur (39–42° S) and Zona Austral (51–54° S) in southernmost Chile. Most of the coal resources of Chile lie in Zona Austral at southernmost Chile.

Usage of coal from Bío Bío Region as fuel dates back to at least 1557 when, according to Diego de Rosales, governor García Hurtado de Mendoza stayed in Quiriquina Island. Early British travelers had differing opinions on the economic value of Chilean coals, or more specifically, the coals of Zona Central Sur. While David Barry found the coals to be of good quality, Charles Darwin found them of little value. The British consul in Chile correctly predicted in 1825 that the area around the mouth of Biobío River would be a centre of coal industry.

It was however not until the mid-19th century that large scale coal mining begun in the region. The initial trigger of coal mining was the arrival of steamships to the port of Talcahuano. These steam ships, most of whom were English, bought initially the coal very cheaply and the exploited coal seams were easy to work as they laid almost at ground level. The mining district of Biobío Region can be divided in two sectors: one south and one north of Biobío River.

In the northern sector the mine of Lirquén, which provided coal to the cement plant of "Melón" was once the most important one. The northern sector contains sub-bituminous coal.

The coals of the southern sector, i.e. those of Arauco Basin, are chiefly of bituminous nature. Industrialist Matías Cousiño begun mining operations in Lota in 1852. Coal mining transformed rapidly Lota, from being a sparsely populated frontier zone in the mid-19th century, into a large industrial hub that attracted immigrants from all over Chile well into the 20th century. Lota's coal mines were nationalized by Salvador Allende due to civil unrest and heavy Socialist support, but privatized again under Augusto Pinochet. Given a high density of geological faults that have displaced the coal beds and the thin nature of these (less than one metre) mining activity in Arauco Basin proved difficult to mechanize. Traditionally the centre of coal mining in Chile, large-scale coal mining in Arauco Basin ended in the 1990s. Despite the decline of the coal industry communities in the zone continue to identify with it.

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