CHILE

Around the World March 1, 2011

The country's mining industry—brought to the world's attention during last year's dramatic rescue of trapped miners—began some 12,000 years ago
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CHILE: The country's mining industry—brought to the world's attention during last year's dramatic rescue of trapped miners—began some 12,000 years ago, when the Huentelauquen people mined iron oxides as pigments. Their recently discovered mine, which is estimated to have produced 50 tons of pigment over 8,000 years, is the oldest securely dated mine in the Americas.

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