Update on Coldelco Copper Mines
At my hostel in Salta, I met a guy from Calama, Chile, the city in which I took a tour of the copper mines. After hearing this, I jumped on the perfect opportunity to ask about what real people actually thought of Codelco (and not just the abbreviated tour). As it turns out, El Chileño, as we called our new friend, surprised me by stating that the mine workers are actually paid extremely well. They reap upwards of $3,000 a month and receive the best benefits in town. Gated communities fill Calama and the mansions within their confines mostly house the copper workers. The nicest and newest cars parading around the city are all Codelco miners' vehicles. The highest prices I've seen on my trip yet were in the North of Chile. El Chileño noted that Calama's prices do not reflect tourism the way San Pedro, the neighboring town where I indeed stayed, but the strong economy revolves around the rich miners.
The mine jobs are apparently some of the hardest jobs to get and the health hazards are minimal. Because Codelco's mines are open faced, the workers spend their days in insulated trucks or steer the cranes to lift and dig at the copper filled rocks. Codelco even physically moved the city by rebuilding new houses for the workers to avoid any possible health side effects of living in close proximity to a mine. In turn, the workers are not exposed to carcinogens the same way as Bolivian miners are said to slave away at.
I'm glad to have the opportunity to observe a nationalized mine that appears to actually protect its workers. I think this will prove to be a valuable comparison when I visit the Potosí silver mines.
The mine jobs are apparently some of the hardest jobs to get and the health hazards are minimal. Because Codelco's mines are open faced, the workers spend their days in insulated trucks or steer the cranes to lift and dig at the copper filled rocks. Codelco even physically moved the city by rebuilding new houses for the workers to avoid any possible health side effects of living in close proximity to a mine. In turn, the workers are not exposed to carcinogens the same way as Bolivian miners are said to slave away at.
I'm glad to have the opportunity to observe a nationalized mine that appears to actually protect its workers. I think this will prove to be a valuable comparison when I visit the Potosí silver mines.
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