Huanchaca Mining Company of Bolivia
1888 The company commenced with the Pulacayo silver mines at Uyuni and Oruro and having Bolivian, Chilean and English owners. Processed ore was sent to Antofagasta.
1889 Construction followed an agreement between Huanchaca Mining Company and the Antofagasta Nitrate Railway to transport ore from the Bolivian mines. In April 1889, Arturo A. Wendt presented the construction plans.
1892 Opened and became fully operational in 1893.
It was the most modern refinery in South America. It had its own power plant, and the lighting in the neighborhood was provided by a gas works, also owned by the company.
1902 The company ceased activities due to the volatility of silver prices in the global market because their technology was outdated. In addition, a main mine at Pulacayo was flooded beyond recovery. The works were sold at auction.
The land and ruins were then owned by the State of Chile, but were transferred to the Catholic University (Antofagasta) 1964. They were declared a Bolivian National Historical Monument January 7, 1974.
See Also
Sources of Information
- Peripheral Labour: Studies in the History of Partial Proletarianization By Marcel van der Linden.
- Economic Change and Rural Resistance in Southern Bolivia, 1880-1930 Antonio Mitre.