El Salvador, Chile facts for kids

Quick facts for kids El Salvador, Chile
Aerial view of El Salvador
El Salvador, Chile Location in Chile
Country	Chile
Admin. division	Atacama Region
Province	Chañaral Province
Commune	Diego de Almagro

El Salvador is a mining town in Chile. It is located in the Atacama Region, within the Chañaral Province. The town is part of the Diego de Almagro commune. El Salvador sits high up, more than 2,400 meters (about 7,874 feet) above sea level. It is nestled in the foothills of the Andes mountains and surrounded by the dry Atacama Desert. Today, about 7,000 people live there. In the past, El Salvador was much bigger, with a population of 34,000 people at its busiest time.

Copper Mining and Town History

The economy of El Salvador relies completely on copper mining. People called the Atacameños were already taking copper from this area over a thousand years ago. However, it was American explorers in the 1950s who found enough copper to mine it on a large, industrial scale.

Building a Mining Town

The Anaconda Copper Mining Company was worried because their copper reserves at the Potrerillos mine were running low. So, in 1951, they sent people to Chile to find new copper deposits. Working for Anaconda's Andes Mining company, they found the copper in 1954 and mapped it out in 1955.

Since the discovery was in a remote area, Anaconda had to build El Salvador from scratch. It was designed to be a complete and self-sufficient town. This included homes, schools, shops, and even its own water and electricity plants. They also built a railway to transport the copper. The mine officially opened in 1959.

Town Design and Legend

The architect who designed the town was Raymond Olson. He worked at Anaconda's main office in New York City. The town was designed to look like a Roman helmet when seen from above.

There's a story that an Anaconda executive visited the future town site with his son. The boy had a toy Roman helmet, which he lost in the desert. Years later, after the city was built, the father flew his son over the town. He supposedly said, "Remember the toy helmet you lost as a young boy? Look down, son, there it is!"

Important Dates for El Salvador

Here are some key dates in the town's early history:

• 23 April 1959: The first load of copper ore was crushed.
• 2 July 1959: The first bar of copper arrived in New York.
• 28 November 1959: El Salvador was officially opened.

Ownership Changes and Future Plans

In 1971, the Chilean government, led by Salvador Allende, took control of the copper mines. This was part of the nationalization of copper. After this, Codelco Chile took over running the El Salvador mine.

In 2004, official records showed that the mine produced 74,874 metric tons of fine copper. It employed 1,727 people. However, even with copper prices going up, the mine lost more than 3.4 million dollars since 2001. A study by an Australian company also found that only 243 million tons of copper were left. This meant the mine only had enough copper for a few more years.

On July 29, 2005, Codelco announced that the mine would start closing in 2008. They planned to stop processing oxide copper first, then sulfide copper from the underground mine. The town itself was expected to close in 2011. However, people still live there as of 2020, and the final closure date is now uncertain.

Solar Power

About 5 kilometers (3 miles) south of El Salvador, you can find the Salvador Solar Park. This large solar power plant, which produces 70 megawatts of electricity, started working in November 2014.

Sports in El Salvador

El Salvador has its own football (soccer) team called Cobresal. They play in the Chilean Football League. Their home stadium, called Copper Stadium, opened in 1980.

In 1983, Cobresal did very well in the Chilean League's Premier B finals. The stadium was expanded to hold more fans. After the expansion, it could fit 20,752 spectators. This is almost three times the current population of the town!

Notable People

• Daniel Aguilera (born 1988), a footballer

See also

In Spanish: El Salvador (Chile) para niños