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Background

Copper mining has long been the mainstay of Chilean exports and at present it still accounts for almost a third of all foreign trade, down from a peak of almost 75%. Copper has been mined since pre-colonial times in the area between central Chile and southern Peru. Between the 1850s and 1880's Chile became the largest copper producer and exporter in the world but production more than halved by the end of the century as the nitrate industry boomed. This was due to several factors including the depletion of the higher grade veins, competition with the nitrate producers for both shipping space and coal supplies and the generally antiquated methods used by the copper industry The Decline of the Copper Industry in Chile and the Entrance of North ... By Joanne Fox Przeworski. This changed at the beginning of the 20th Century with the entrance of mainly American capital and the development of methods to treat the massive low grade porphyry copper deposits that have become the mainstay of the industry. Due to the introduction of artificial nitrates following World War I The Guggenheims and the Coming of the Great Depression in Chile, 1923-1934 , the world market for saltpeter, then Chile's main export, collapsed. Copper then became Chile's principal export and it was during that period that copper became known as "Chile's salary". Read full entry

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