Excursión a la sierra Chañarcillo: Las minas Valenciana, Ossa y Candelaria, Atacama

Today we're going to climb Chañarcillo Hill at 1200 meters altitude, checking out the three mines: Valenciana, Manto Ossa, and Candelaria. It's not recommended to go by vehicle, just in case. Finding the access road up is somewhat complicated. But finding the way down on the way back is even harder. The main problem is the open workings in the veins that make the passage difficult. This area corresponds to an early stage of production. Manto de Ossa Mine: The Manto Ossa mine is located at 1197 meters altitude. Its facilities cover an area of ​​120 by 60 meters. According to Henwood (1871), the Manto de Ossa mine has an area of ​​172 by 88 meters. Parts of the Manto, the Colorada vein, and the Waring vein ("Warings lode") are mined. In 1869, the "Manto Ossa" mine ranked tenth in fine silver production in Chañarcillo. Of the 120,775 kg of ore extracted, 590,564 kg of fine silver were recovered. This corresponds to 1.35% of the silver produced that year in Chañarcillo. An average of 46 people worked at the mine throughout the year, and productive activity was reported for eight months of that year. The Valenciana Mine: The Valenciana Mine was located at an altitude of 1180 meters, and its ruins occupy an area of ​​approximately 120 meters by 170 meters. The Valenciana was a mine of the San Francisco vein, the northernmost vein. Its strike was N15E, with a dip of almost 90 degrees. The vein in that sector intersected the orebody, and the workings of the Valenciana were interconnected with the mines of the orebody. But there is a considerable amount of background information on the mine's operations. This includes the work of the German geologist Friedrich Moesta, and detailed descriptions by Ignacio Domeyko and Henwood. Images by Friedrich Moesta and photographs by Rafael Castro de Ordóñez during the expedition of the Scientific Commission of the Pacific also exist. The statistics clearly illustrate the mine's situation. By 1869, production was already regular, with 260 kilograms of silver extracted that year. The mine employed 51 people. However, a notable decline in both production and the number of employees is evident until 1876. Friedrich Moesta describes the Valenciana mine in Chañarcillo and its condition in 1862, having already reached a depth of 560 meters. The Valenciana vein at the top was 10 meters thick and had a silver content between 2.0 and 2.5%; in deeper sections, it only showed a thickness of 1 meter. Candelaria Mine: The Candelaria mine is located at an altitude of 1207 meters and is the easternmost of the mines in the hill group. Today, almost nothing remains; the ruins are difficult to recognize. Gilliss (1855) describes the administrator's and owner's house as well-equipped and quite comfortable. Contents: Timeline 0:00 Introduction to the Chañarcillo Hill Mines 0:47 Manto Ossa Mine in Chañarcillo 8:03 Valenciana Mine Lookout in Chañarcillo 9:57 Valenciana Mine in Chañarcillo 11:06 Friedrich Moesta in Chañarcillo 17:28 Candelaria Mine in Chañarcillo Related Videos: ◆ Chañarcillo, Juan Godoy:    • Chañarcillo (1): El pueblo de Juan Godoy e...   ◆ Geology and Mines of Chañarcillo:    • Chañarcillo (2) - Las minas y geología   ◆ Discoverer and the Miners' Wages:    • Cuánto ganaron los mineros en 1851? - Ejem...   ◆ Colorada Mine:    • Mina La Colorada de Chañarcillo: Un analisis   Citations: ◆ Griem, W. (1998-2025): www.geovirtual2.cl ◆ GILLISS, J.M. (1855): The U.S. Naval Astonomical Expedition to the southern Hemisphere, during the years 1849-50-51-52. - Volume 1 (Chile); Washington A.O.P. Nicholson Printer. ◆ Moesta, Fr. - 47 pages, 4 tables; Marburg. ◆ Henwood, W.J. (1871): On the Mining District of Chañarcillo in Chili. - Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall; 8:1, pp. 169-153. ◆ Domeyko, I. (1909): Geology. – Volume Five, official edition; Santiago, Chile (Imprenta Cervantes). On geovirtual2.cl: ◆ Chañarcillo: https://www.geovirtual2.cl/minas/Chan... ◆ Candelaria Profile: https://www.geovirtual2.cl/minas/Chan... ◆ Valenciana: https://www.geovirtual2.cl/minas/Chan... ◆ Moesta, Valenciana Profile: https://www.geovirtual2.cl/minas/Chan... Music: God for a Day - Honeycutts (Epidemic Sounds) - intro Face Off - DonVayei (Epidemic Sounds) Reflections - American Legion (Epidemic Sounds) Silent River - Jon Algar (Epidemic Sounds) To the Last Man - Jon Bjork (Epidemic Sounds) This video is based on field trip no. 101, from February 14, 2026 The video was published: May 2, 2026