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El Teniente ("The Lieutenant") is an underground copper mine in the Chilean commune of Machalí in Cachapoal Province, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region, near the town of Sewell, above mean sea level in the Andes. Mining at El Teniente is reported to have started as early as 1819. Kennecott Copper Corporation ran the mine through a subsidiary company up until the Chilean nationalization of copper and the formation of the state owned copper mining company Codelco, who currently operates the mine. With over of underground drifts, it is reported as "the world's biggest underground copper mine", and is the largest of Codelco's operations. El Teniente mine is undergoing, since 2011, a structural project called New Mine Level (NML). It consists of expanding the mine deeper into the hill at 1,880 meters above sea level. The project is being carried out without interrupting the operation of El Teniente Division. ==History== According to legend, the El Teniente mine was discovered in the 1800s by a fugitive Spaniard official, with exploitation beginning in 1819. The best ore was mined manually in what would be called the Fortuna sector, and transported by animal. In 1904 William Braden (an engineer from New York) and E.W. Nash formed the Braden Copper Company, built a road for carts, and a concentrating plant. Chileans referred to the large scale mining operation as ''La Gran Minería del Cobre''. In 1967 the Chilean government bought a 51% stake in the mine and founded Sociedad Minera El Teniente. Under this agreement a new concentrator was built, and the mine expanded its production to per day.〔 Braden became a subsidiary company of Kennecott Copper Corporation in 1916 and on July 11, 1971 with the Chilean nationalization of copper under President Salvador Allende and the formation of the Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (known as Codelco), El Teniente became a state owned operation. The Chilean government was to pay Kennecott $92.9-million for the property. The mine has increased production to of ore per day,〔 and in 2006 the mine produced over of copper.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Ficha técnica División El Teniente )〕 The Vancouver, Canada based company Amerigo produces both a copper and molybdenum concentrate from El Teniente's tailings, and also has the right to treat higher grade tailings from a large abandoned tailings impoundment near to the El Teniente property. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「El Teniente」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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