November 29, 2010
What do these subjects have in common?
First: A little simple history.
In 1970, Salvador Allende was elected president of Chile with a minority of the votes. He was the first freely elected Socialist president in the Americas and maybe the world. This was during the Cold War between Communist USSR and Capitalist USA. The USA already had Cuba as a Communist thorn in its American side. The USA feared that another Socialist government that was friendly to Communist Russia would adversely affect the balance of power and also would be another base to forment other Socialist/Communist takeovers in the Americas.
President Allende campaigned on nationalizing foreign owned industries within Chile. Copper mining was and still is the major industry in Chile. At the time of Allende’s ascent to the presidency of Chile, Anaconda Mining and Kennecott Mining owned most of the Chilean mining operations. There were other major industries involved in other sectors of the economy most notably that of International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) control of national telecommunications.
Allende and his government nationalized these industries without compensation to the previous owners. Allende’s major attempts to socialize the economy made the economic situation in Chile worse and there were national strikes. The military, along with major assistance and encouragement from the US CIA and money from the ITT and the mining operators, staged a coup d’état and overthrew the Allende government.
As a senior at Jacksonville State and trying to get my degree on a shoestring budget, I did one of my term papers in International Relations on the election and overthrow of Salvador Allende. At that time I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to visit the old Anaconda Mine in Chuquicamata Chile - the ownership of which was one of the prime issues in the overthrow of a president.
The mine is now called the Codelco Norte mine and is still owned by the Chilean government. This is the largest open face copper mine in the world. It is 4700 meters long, 3000 meters wide and 1000 meters deep. Codelco is no longer making the mine any deeper as it takes the monster trucks too long to climb the six miles out of the winding road to the top. Current mining at this site is being done underground with the use of conveyor belts to get the copper ore to the trucks at the bottom of the mine.
There are 100 of these large trucks which can haul between 310 and 440 tons each depending on the model. Seventy-five of the trucks are in twenty-four hour a day service with the other twenty-five being rotated through scheduled maintenance.
The trucks consume three liters of diesel a minute. The fuel tanks on the largest trucks hold 4000 liters. (Ms. Debbie’s fourth grade class: I want you to tell me how many hours one truck can operate on one tank of diesel. No calculators please. I know it is a reading problem, but get used to it – life is a reading problem.)
The tires on these trucks are over ten feet tall. The Toyota mid-size pickups that are servicing the large the large trucks look like midgets.
It takes 100 tons of copper ore to make one ton of copper. The process takes 14 days.
To say I enjoyed my tour is an understatement and completes a circle for me that took nearly 40 years.
First: A little simple history.
In 1970, Salvador Allende was elected president of Chile with a minority of the votes. He was the first freely elected Socialist president in the Americas and maybe the world. This was during the Cold War between Communist USSR and Capitalist USA. The USA already had Cuba as a Communist thorn in its American side. The USA feared that another Socialist government that was friendly to Communist Russia would adversely affect the balance of power and also would be another base to forment other Socialist/Communist takeovers in the Americas.
President Allende campaigned on nationalizing foreign owned industries within Chile. Copper mining was and still is the major industry in Chile. At the time of Allende’s ascent to the presidency of Chile, Anaconda Mining and Kennecott Mining owned most of the Chilean mining operations. There were other major industries involved in other sectors of the economy most notably that of International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) control of national telecommunications.
Allende and his government nationalized these industries without compensation to the previous owners. Allende’s major attempts to socialize the economy made the economic situation in Chile worse and there were national strikes. The military, along with major assistance and encouragement from the US CIA and money from the ITT and the mining operators, staged a coup d’état and overthrew the Allende government.
As a senior at Jacksonville State and trying to get my degree on a shoestring budget, I did one of my term papers in International Relations on the election and overthrow of Salvador Allende. At that time I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to visit the old Anaconda Mine in Chuquicamata Chile - the ownership of which was one of the prime issues in the overthrow of a president.
The mine is now called the Codelco Norte mine and is still owned by the Chilean government. This is the largest open face copper mine in the world. It is 4700 meters long, 3000 meters wide and 1000 meters deep. Codelco is no longer making the mine any deeper as it takes the monster trucks too long to climb the six miles out of the winding road to the top. Current mining at this site is being done underground with the use of conveyor belts to get the copper ore to the trucks at the bottom of the mine.
There are 100 of these large trucks which can haul between 310 and 440 tons each depending on the model. Seventy-five of the trucks are in twenty-four hour a day service with the other twenty-five being rotated through scheduled maintenance.
The trucks consume three liters of diesel a minute. The fuel tanks on the largest trucks hold 4000 liters. (Ms. Debbie’s fourth grade class: I want you to tell me how many hours one truck can operate on one tank of diesel. No calculators please. I know it is a reading problem, but get used to it – life is a reading problem.)
The tires on these trucks are over ten feet tall. The Toyota mid-size pickups that are servicing the large the large trucks look like midgets.
It takes 100 tons of copper ore to make one ton of copper. The process takes 14 days.
To say I enjoyed my tour is an understatement and completes a circle for me that took nearly 40 years.
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