El Carmen mine
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Atacama Region | |
| Country | Chile |
| Coordinates | 26°24′35″S 70°18′48″W / 26.40962°S 70.31346°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Iron |
| Owner | |
| Company | Compañía Minera Carmen |
El Carmen is an iron mine in northern Chile about 50 km east of the port of Chañaral. The ore of the mine is one of various iron oxide-apatite (IOA) ores that are part of the north-south Chilean Iron Belt. In the 1960s the ore extracted at El Carmen was considered low grade and was therefore usually mixed with richer iron ores from other mines. Alongside Cerro Imán, Huantemé and El Dorado, El Carmen is considered the basis for the medium-scale iron mining in Chile.
The geology of the mine contain parts of massive magnetite ore as well as ore-rich gravels that are part of alluvial deposits.
Part of the mine is an open-pit and part of it is made of underground workings.