MulpĂșn
MulpĂșn is a coal mine and locality in Los RĂos Region, Chile. MulpĂșn lies in the commune of MĂĄfil a few kilometers to the west of the Chile Route 5 and north of the Calle-Calle and San Pedro River.
History
The mine was exploited during parts of the 20th century when its coal powered the electric grid of the city of Valdivia.[1] The mine has been owned by CompañĂa CarbonĂfera San Pedro de CatamutĂșn since 1987. In 1992 and 1993 a gravimetric exploration campaign was conducted. The mine was planned to re-open in 1997.[2] As the CatamutĂșn mines closed in the late 1990s some miners were transferred to MulpĂșn, but mining in MulpĂșn ended in 2001 after an explosion accident.[3]
An underground coal gasification project in the closed MulpĂșn mine was made public in 2009[4][5] but was put on hold in 2013.[4] The project was a joint-venture between Antofagasta Minerals and Carbon Energy until 2013.[4][6]
Geology
At MulpĂșn there is one sub-horizontal coal layer whose thickness vary from 9 to 11 m. The coal is sub-bituminous type.[2] Geologically the coal layers of MulpĂșn are belong to the so-called MulpĂșn Beds,[7] a unit similar to the Pupunahue Beds[2] that extends across large of the sub-surface of Los RĂos Region and whose coal has also been mined at CatamutĂșn and Pupunahue.[8][2] The coal layers are of Oligo-Miocene age[upper-alpha 1] and lie near the base of Pupunahue Beds. Below these lies the basement which is made up by the BahĂa Mansa Metamorphic Complex. The MulpĂșn Bedsare overlaid across an angular uncorformity by Quaternary deposits.[7] The coals of MulpĂșn and the whole MulpĂșn Beds lie in MulpĂșn Basin,[2] a sub-basin of the larger Pupunahue-MulpĂșn Neogene Carboniferous Basin.[7]
The sedimentary strata have been interpreted to reflect the former existence of four distinct environments:[7]
- A fluvial estuary with sand bars and peat accumulations
- A slightly saline swamp with peat accumulations
- A tidal flat
- A continental shelf 500 or more meters below sea level
Notes
- â Fossil foraminifer studies have however cast doubts on the exact age of coals across southern Chile, being a possibility that many coals are of Eocene age and not of Oligo-Miocene age.[9]
References
- â Davis, Eliodoro MartĂn (1990). "Breves recuerdos de algunas actividades mineras del carbĂłn". Actas. Segundo Simposio sobre el Terciario de Chile (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Departamento de Geociencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de ConcepciĂłn. pp. 189â203.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Alfaro, G.; Gantz, E. (1997). "La Nueva Mina de CarbĂłn MulpĂșn, Valdivia, Chile" (PDF). Actas. XVIII Congreso GeolĂłgico Chileno (in Spanish). II. Antofagasta: Universidad CatĂłlica del Norte. pp. 832â836.
- â Alfaro M., Karen; Figueroa C., SebastiĂĄn. Trayectorias laborales e identidades mĂșltiples en mineros del carbĂłn del sur de Chile. Un anĂĄlisis desde la historia oral (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). Austral University of Chile. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
- 1 2 3 HernĂĄn Scandizzo (31 December 2016). "CarbĂłn 2.0, otro capĂtulo de la saga no convencional" [Coal 2.0, another chapter of the non-conventional energy saga] (in Spanish). Rebelion.org. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- â Proyecto GasificarĂĄ el CarbĂłn para Generar EnergĂa ElĂ©ctrica
- â Socio australiano busca vender el 30% de proyecto de gas en Valdivia al grupo Luksic
- 1 2 3 4 Villablanca, D.; Alfaro, G.; Quinzio, L.A. (2003). SedimentologĂa de la cuenca carbonĂfera NeĂłgena de Pupunahue-MulpĂșn, X RegiĂłn de Los Lagos, Chile (PDF). 10° Congreso GeolĂłgico Chileno (in Spanish). ConcepciĂłn: Departamento de Geociencias, Universidad de ConcepciĂłn.
- â Elgueta, Sara; Le Roux, Jacobus; Duhart, Paul; McDonough, Michael; Urqueta, Esteban (2000). EstratigrafĂa y sedimentologĂa de la cuencas terciarias de la RegiĂłn de Los Lagos (39-41°30âS) (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Servicio Nacional de GeologĂa y MinerĂa. p. 15. ISSN 0020-3939.
- â Finger, Kenneth L.; Encinas, Alfonso (2009). "Recognition and implications of globigerinathekids (Eocene planktic foraminifera) in coal-bearing successions of the forearc of south-central Chile (37Âș45'-41Âș50'S)". Ameghiniana. 46 (2).
Coordinates: 39°45âČ16âłS 72°56âČ57âłWï»ż / ï»ż39.754402°S 72.949087°W