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 Compañía 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]

Notes

  1. ↑ 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

  1. ↑ 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. 189–203.
  2. 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. 832–836.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. 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.
  5. ↑ Proyecto GasificarĂĄ el CarbĂłn para Generar EnergĂ­a ElĂ©ctrica
  6. ↑ Socio australiano busca vender el 30% de proyecto de gas en Valdivia al grupo Luksic
  7. 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.
  8. ↑ 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°30’S) (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Servicio Nacional de GeologĂ­a y MinerĂ­a. p. 15. ISSN 0020-3939.
  9. ↑ 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°45â€Č16″S 72°56â€Č57″Wï»ż / ï»ż39.754402°S 72.949087°Wï»ż / -39.754402; -72.949087


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