The vast mineral mine in the Atacama desert looks from space

The photo was taken on June 26, 2019 in a special area of ​​the Tarapaca region in northern Chile, where the largest caliche mines (or Chilean matches) can be found.

A specific area in the Tarapaca region of northern Chile, where the largest caliche mines (also known as Chilean matches) can be found, is clearly shown in a photograph taken on June 26, 2019. The photo was data taken by the Copernicus Sentinel satellite, and was processed by the European Space Agency (ESA).

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us through a part of Chile's Atacama Desert, this region is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, east of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is considered to be one of the driest places on Earth - some parts of the desert have never had the chance to record rainfall information.

Atacama mineral mine

This is where Nitrate, Lithium, Potassium and Iodine are extracted. For example, iodine is extracted during an ore refining process - often widely used in modern large-scale mining operations. The filter piles are visible in the form of rectangles dotted around the image, although it is not known why they have different colors. Some filter columns are lighter or darker due to different water content or soil type.

The shapes on the right are large evaporation ponds. Salt water is pumped to the surface into these shallow ponds through a network of wells. The dry and windy climate increases the evaporation of water and allows the salt to concentrate to extract lithium - often used in battery manufacturing.

The evaporation pond is on the right

The bright turquoise color of the evaporation ponds is in stark contrast to the surrounding landscape - making them easily recognized when viewed from space. The distinctive black lines visible in the image are roads that connect to other construction areas.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 is a mission of two satellites to cover and provide the necessary data for the European Copernicus program. This fake color image has been processed by selecting spectral bands that can be used to classify geological features.