History of mining at the Atacama region (Chile): Tres Puntas

B. Esperanza: p.1 | p.2 | p.3 | Hist | Data 

español / deutsch / english

The drawing by Recaredo Tornero (1872) is an excellent example of the Tres Puntas/Chimbero representation in literature at this time. The miners' faces are all covered by a black shadow, a considerable load presses on their backs - you can see the people's exhaustion. You can see a group of four or five people receiving the ore cargo behind the miners. The posture and clothing of this group suggest a slightly elevated position in the mine. The building's appearance - the walls in weak, soft tones - in a very similar form is depicted here the desert, which the open gate can recognize. Even in the remains and ruins that visitors can still see today, it is easy to realize that the mining industry had a relatively high technical standard in the Buena Esperanza mine. In addition to many solid buildings, the remains of a lime furnace can also be detected. Unfortunately, open-pit mining has been carried out in the last years of operation, and some building complexes are lost forever.