Aucanquilcha
The Aucanquilcha seen from northwest
The Aucanquilcha is a 6176 m high stratovolcano in the Región de Antofagasta in northern Chile on the border with West Bolivia. It is located in the mountain range of the Cordillera Occidental in the central Andes. East of him the 3,704 m high Chilean border station Ollagüe is located on National Route 21 and the railroad to Bolivia. Across from him, the 5,870 m high volcano Ollagüe rises. Immediately at the foot of Aucanquilcha in about 9.5 km away from the place Ollagüe is the almost completely abandoned city Amincha.
During the Pleistocene the Aucanquilcha was covered with glacial ice on an area of 45 km ², which reached down to 4.600 m and large moraine left behind. He is currently still covered down to about 5,500 m altitude with snow and ice and still comes from fumaroles. Its melting water is therefore not edible.
The mountain was sacred to the Incas. Near the summit, two ceremonial circles and the remains were found by processed into fuel Yareta plants.
Mining
Near the summit worked since 1913 a sulfur - mine the Carrasco family belonging SIAM Carrasco SA, the then second largest sulfur mining company in Chile. The mine at Aucanquilcha was the highest mine in the world. The sulfur was mined at altitudes of 5,500 m to 6,000 m. The workers were exclusively Quechua Indians from Bolivia, since only they were accustomed to these heights. Their camp, which Campamiento Aucanquilcha was in 5334 m height. It was considered the highest permanently populated city of mankind.
Until 1935 the sulfur recovered in the mine was taken away with the help of llamas, then by a ropeway, which transported the sulfur in buckets.
Ropeway
The remains of this 1935 put into operation the cable car are still clearly visible. The first section of the cable car led by less than 2 km behind Amincha to 3,942 m Valley Station in the west to 12 km away, 5,279 m high central station at Campamiento Aucanquilcha. From there, a second 1.62 km long section in nearly a southerly direction went to the 5,874 m high mountain station just below the flat saddle between the summit group and the adjacent western tip. The cable car thus had a total length of 13.6 miles and overcame a difference in altitude of 1,932 m. The hill station was the highest mountain station in the world. The first section of the cableway consisted of 7 sections of up to 2.8 km in length with 6 intermediate stations. About every 100 to 150 m was a prop. The second section had only a 1.62 km long section, due to the terrain profile, 4 supports at a maximum of 600 m. More technical details do not seem to be known.
Truck transport
Later, the mine was opened up by roads that were passable with 20 - ton trucks up to an altitude of 6,024 m. Also on the south side of the volcano was built by a 4,778 m high altitude camp in the B -105 from a road to a mine at 5,623 m altitude. With the closure of the mine in 1992, these roads have lost their meaning and are no longer completely to ride today due to landslides.