A LABORATORY OF NATURE
The great desert of Tarapacá, which stretches along the coast of Chile
for hundreds of miles, has proven to be the most valuable of its entire
possessions. And yet it is as barren a desert as one could find on
the surface of the globe. Darwin thus describes a part of it that he
travelled over: “A complete and utter desert. The road was strewn with
the bones and dried skins of the many beasts of burden which had perished
on it from fatigue. Excepting the vulture which preys on the carcasses, I
saw neither bird, quadruped, reptile, nor insect. On the coast mountains
at the height of about two thousand feet, where during the season the
clouds generally hang, a very few cacti were growing in the clefts of the
rock, and the loose sand was strewn over with a lichen which grows quite
unattached. In some parts it was of sufficient quantity to tinge the
sand, as seen from a distance, of a pale yellowish colour.” It is this
dry climate that has made possible the existence of the great nitrate
deposits along this coast. Rainfall, even in moderate quantities, would
dissolve the nitrate. These deposits lie as a rule just within the coast
range of mountains.
Many theories have been advanced as to the cause of this chemical
composition. The most ingenious one, perhaps, is that nitric acid is
formed by a flash of lightning passing through a moist atmosphere, and
electrical storms are very common in the Cordilleras. The other is that
this coast was originally submerged in the ocean, and was gradually
upheaved. This would leave a line of lagoons and marshes, in which
seaweed and other plants flourished. As the lagoons successively dried
up, the plants would be decomposed and nitric acid and iodine formed.
This, united in combination with the gypsum-yielding soda found there,
formed nitrate of soda. At any rate, Nature, by some mysterious process,
has formed a chemical combination which has been of inestimable value to
the world in general.
This desert coast is not all productive of nitrate. Some sections are
valueless, and some produce other chemical products. One can take
a narrow-gauge train at Antofagasta and travel inland for hundreds
of miles across the Andes and into the plateaus of Bolivia, and the
entire distance is almost as void of green as the great Sahara Desert.
Occasionally there is a scrubby tree which looks forlorn in its
loneliness. There are salt plains which reach to the hills on either
side. In one place there is a great salt field that is estimated to cover
more than eighty thousand acres. This produces almost pure chloride of
sodium in crystallized form. The thickness of the salt layer is not
known, but some wells are as much as eighty feet deep and the bottom of
the deposit has not been reached. It is a good quality of salt. There are
borax lakes along the route, where enough borax can be secured to supply
the entire world. But it is from the beds of nitrate of soda that the
greatest wealth of this region is secured. To it is due the prosperity of
all the ports from Pisagua to Taltal.
This chemical product, which we call Chilean saltpetre, and which is
locally known as _salitre_, is found over hundreds of square miles of
territory. The only visible boundaries between the different owners are
marked by white posts at the corners of the different properties. With
this exception there are no marks whatever on the landscape, and no signs
of life except the factories, known as _oficinas_, the numerous homes of
the employees made of corrugated iron, and the workmen who are engaged
in blasting and hauling away this mineral. The nitrate beds follow the
coast line at a distance of from fifteen to a hundred miles from the
sea, generally at an elevation of from four thousand to five thousand
feet, and in deposits which vary from one to four miles in width. They
reach from near Antofagasta to a point some distance north of Iquique.
In some places the deposits play out, but they reappear again a little
farther on. The fields that have been exploited look as though they had
been ploughed over by gigantic ploughs, for immense clods are scattered
here and there wherever the work has been carried on. On either side of
this strip there is simply a mass of sand and rock, which extends from
the sea to the topmost peaks of the Andes. There is, however, a wonderful
colouring on the slopes of the mountains, and one will see many tints of
violet, green, lemon and gray within the horizon.
Nitrate of soda is seldom found pure, and the nitrate rock, called
_caliche_, will vary from ten to sixty per cent. of the pure mineral. In
some fields it is found on the top of the soil, and in others it is as
much as forty feet beneath the surface, with the strata of salt rock on
the top of it. It varies considerably in composition. Holes are dug or
drilled down through the _caliche_ until a bed of gravelly material is
reached, into which charges of dynamite or blasting powder are placed,
and the nitrate rock is thus loosened up. When first exposed the nitrate
is sometimes as soft as cheese, but it hardens on contact with the air.
The lumps thus broken are then dug out with picks or crowbars and hauled
in mule-carts to the _oficinas_.
There are many of these mills throughout the nitrate fields, and they
are busy places. The lumps are first crushed, and are then lifted by
elevators and placed in huge tanks filled with sea water. These tanks are
encircled by coils of steam pipes, which heat the water that is poured in
with the rock to any desired temperature. Nitrate is soluble in water,
and this purifying process rests upon the fact of its greater solubility
in water heated to the boiling point, than the other salts with which it
is associated. When the water has become supersaturated in the boiling
tanks, the nitrate of soda in solution is drawn into shallow vats which
are exposed to the air. At this state it looks like pale maple molasses.
As it cools, the nitrate of soda crystallizes in the vats, together with
a little common salt and a small amount of other impurities, and the
sides become covered with white sparkling crystals like alabaster. These
crystals are then shovelled upon drying boards and exposed to the sun for
a time, after which they are graded and put into bags weighing a little
over a hundred pounds each. This product, which is ninety-six per cent.
chemically pure nitrate of soda, is then transported to the seacoast,
from whence it is shipped to Europe or the United States, the latter
country receiving about one-fifth of the whole.
Another product of these nitrate beds is iodine, which remains in the
liquid after the removal of the nitrate. This liquid is poured into
smaller pans, and is chemically treated until the iodine is precipitated
in the form of a black powder. This is then heated in a retort which
changes it to a vapour, and it is again condensed into beautiful violet
crystals. The iodine is packed in small casks which are shipped with
bullion and other valuables, for each cask is worth several hundred
dollars. As the consumption of iodine is not very large the _oficinas_
refine only a part of the iodine in order to keep up the price.
More than two million tons of nitrate of soda were shipped from Chile
last year, which is the greatest amount that has ever been produced.
It has been found especially valuable for increasing the growth of the
sugar beets in Europe, as it seems to provide the soil with the essential
elements for their growth. The consumption in the United States is
increasing rapidly, and it is looked upon as the best fertilizer provided
by nature. According to horticultural authorities it has been found
especially efficacious in stimulating the growth of vegetables, such
as cabbages, onions, carrots, beets, etc., and for field crops of many
kinds. It is said that even the Incas of Peru were acquainted with its
value as a fertilizer. It is also extensively used in the manufacture
of gunpowders and other high explosives, which in itself makes a
considerable demand.
The discovery of the value of nitrate as a fertilizer was by accident.
A poor Scotchman, who lived near where Iquique now stands, had a small
garden which he cultivated with great care. One day he noticed that a
part of his garden, which had been banked up with soil containing this
mysterious white substance, flourished much more than the rest. This
led to experiments and some of this soil was sent back to Scotland. The
success of the experiments that followed gradually led to the development
of the present industry, but the discoverer died as poor as he was born.
The first nitrate works were established at Noria in 1826. It was not
until after the war between Chile and Peru that the industry reached
great proportions. Then an Englishman by the name of North began its
development and soon afterwards became known as the “nitrate king.”
Other nitrate princes rose, and thrived like the bonanza mining kings
of Mexico and Peru in their best days. Englishmen became peers of that
country through the influence of colossal fortunes paved with saltpetre.
In its raw state the nitrate contains some properties injurious to plant
life, but these are removed. As this process requires the latest modern
machinery to do the work economically, the business has drifted into the
hands of big combinations of capital.
As the government of Chile exacts an export tax on every sack of nitrate
of soda exported, the revenue from this source is enormous and pays more
than two-thirds of the expenses of that extravagant government. Chile
owns practically all the nitrate of soda in the world. Small quantities
have been found elsewhere, but in this region are the only deposits
that can be operated at a profit. Most of the nitrate fields at one
time belonged to Peru, but Chile appropriated them as indemnity, after
a disastrous war was waged between the two countries in 1880, in which
Chile was victorious. You can not meet a Peruvian anywhere to-day who
does not swear vengeance against Chile, for thus robbing his country of
her greatest source of wealth.
[Illustration: LOADING NITRATE.]
English capital has developed this great industry in Chile, and no less
than one hundred million dollars in British sovereigns have been invested
in these dreary wastes. Almost one hundred million dollars’ worth of this
_salitre_ has been exported in a single year. The ports are at all times
filled with vessels which have brought coal and merchandise, and are
awaiting a load of nitrate. It is seldom that the Stars and Stripes are
seen floating from a masthead, but it is a welcome sight to an American.
The profits for a few years were so great that an overdevelopment
followed, and the price greatly dropped. Then a trust agreement was,
arrived at limiting the output, but even that was not a success and the
production is again unlimited. The population of the nitrate district is
a cosmopolitan one, and represents almost every nation on the face of the
earth. It gives employment to many thousands of persons. A homesick and
stranded American is not an uncommon sight.
It is estimated that at the present rate of mining the known fields of
nitrate of soda in Chile will be exhausted in fifty years, or less.
The official board of engineers has recently reported to the Chilean
government that there are in sight four and a half million quintals
(220.4 lbs.) of nitrate in the deposits of the country. A previous
estimate had fixed the visible quantity at less than half that amount. It
is doubtful whether either of those estimates is very reliable. At any
rate the government and owners of the _oficinas_ are pushing the sales
in every way, and exploiting the use and value of nitrate as though it
was inexhaustible. It is possible that similar deposits may be found on
the Sahara Desert, or some of our own desert lands where similar climatic
and atmospheric conditions exist. The value of nitrate lands in Chile has
risen rapidly in recent years, and nearly all the undeveloped fields are
now owned by the Chilean government, which auctions them off as the need
for money arises.
The nitrate industry has very naturally overshadowed all other mining
enterprises in Chile, and especially in the northern section. And yet
there are many more mining industries even in that part of the republic.
The Spaniards cared for nothing but gold and silver and set thousands
of Indians at work in the mines at Tucapel, Valdivia, and Quillota.
The Malga Malga mines, near the latter town, and the Madre de Dios
(mother of God) mines, near Mariguina, were the best producers of the
yellow metal. The district around Taltal also produced gold and silver.
By the primitive processes of the Spaniards only a portion of the ore
was extracted. The refuse has since been refined, and even houses have
been torn down that had been constructed of the by-products of the old
amalgamation process. Some of this refuse contained as much as sixty
ounces of pure silver to the ton. The total production of silver and gold
to-day is not great when compared with the other gold-producing nations.
Among the best mines now being worked are the Caracoles silver mines,
which are inland from Antofagasta a little over one hundred miles, and
the Inca Caracoles mines, which are fifty miles further inland. The total
output of these mines during the years they have been worked reaches
big figures, but the balmiest days have passed. Some of the workings
have reached a depth of twenty-five hundred feet. The ores are generally
chlorides or iodides, with mixtures of sulphides, but pockets of almost
pure silver are occasionally found.
Copper production is next in value after nitrate. There are smelting
plants at Caldera, Cerro Blanco, Jarilla, Antofagasta, and other places.
Central Chile is the copper country, although Lota is one of the greatest
producers. The surface oftentimes shows the green outcroppings of the
copper deposits. The superior attraction of the nitrate fields has at
times caused a scarcity of labour there so that the development has been
greatly hampered. Nevertheless the copper industry has been a fairly
profitable and steady one. The annual output ranges from thirty-five
thousand to forty thousand tons, but it is doubtless capable of
considerable further development, with the aid of more modern methods and
the installation of the latest machinery.
Iron ore has been found in only small quantities. Chile has the best
coal mines in South America, which, in 1909, produced a little less
than a million tons, not quite half of the consumption. Coal was first
discovered at Lota more than a century ago, but the deposits were not
worked until a half-century later. The only mines now being worked are in
the provinces of Concepción and Arauco. As small veins have been found at
Punta Arenas, it may be that the seams of coal run all the way between
those points. It is rather an inferior quality of bituminous coal. More
than a million tons are imported yearly, of which a little more than
one-half comes from England and the balance from Australia. The shipping
rate is very low as the boats come after cargoes of nitrate and will
carry coal at a very cheap rate rather than be obliged to make the long
outward journey in ballast.