POY Latam

Fotógrafo del Año 2011, 3er premio

A wall at the entrance of the Puelma Mine.

These photographs were taken in the Atacama Desert in different abandoned nitrate mines from the beginning of the 1900's. Chile used to be one the main exporters of nitrate in the world until Germany invented synthetic nitrate and most of these mines became deserted. The workers used to live in the mines and get paid with tokens. One of the mines, Chacabuco, was used as a concentration camp during the Pinochet regime.

Filename: LAT01-16-RunaKG-A-08.JPG
Copyright: POY LATAM
Image Size: 2500x1667 / 87.0KB; nitrate mines mining Chile Atacama desert ruins pinochet concentration camp prisoners tokens synthetic nitrate oregon wood chacabuco puelma.
Contained in galleries: Runa Fotos, 3er premio, 2011

A wall at the entrance of the Puelma Mine.<br />
<br />
These photographs were taken in the Atacama Desert in different abandoned nitrate mines from the beginning of the 1900's. Chile used to be one the main exporters of nitrate in the world until Germany invented synthetic nitrate and most of these mines became deserted. The workers used to live in the mines and get paid with tokens. One of the mines, Chacabuco, was used as a concentration camp during the Pinochet regime.