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Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana Volumen 72, núm. 3, A020720, 2020 |
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El Dominio Salino del norte de Chile y sus yacimientos de minerales industriales
The Saline Domain of northern Chile and its industrial mineral ore deposits
Guillermo Chong Díaz1,*, Cecilia Demergasso2, Javier Urrutia Meza3, Marina Vargas A.4
1Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad Católica del Norte, Angamos 06016, Antofagasta, Chile.
2Centro de Biotecnología, Universidad Católica del Norte, Angamos 06016, Antofagasta, Chile.
3Universidad de Antofagasta, Angamos 601, Antofagasta, Chile .
4Unidad de Equipamiento Científico MAINI, Universidad Católica del Norte, Angamos 06016, Antofagasta, Chile.
* Autor para correspondencia: (G. Chong) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
How to cite this article:
Chong Díaz, G., Demergasso, C., Urrutia Meza, J., Vargas, M., 2020, El Dominio Salino del norte de Chile y sus yacimientos de minerales industriales: Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, 72 (3), A020720. http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2020v72n3a020720
Abstract
The concept of “Saline Domain in Northern Chile” is defined and described as a result of the combination of geological, geomorphological and climatic/paleoclimatic factors. These determine that in the Norte Grande region of Chile (18°-27°South Lat.) the presence of salts has a wide distribution in soils, sedimentary sequences, evaporitic basins, underground and surface waters and in dynamic fogs. The majority presence of chlorides, sulfates, carbonates, borates, and other rather unusual salts in Nature such as nitrates, iodates, chromates, dichromates, chlorates and perchlorates is recognized. This Saline Domain includes the formation of some of the main deposits of Industrial Minerals in Chile as in the case of nitrates and iodine, salt, lithium and other subordinates such as those of borates and potassium. The geological, geomorphological and climatic/ paleoclimatic settings, the role of salts as weathering and erosion agents and the main Industrial Minerals saline ore deposits are described. The importance of these saline environments is recognized as an exceptional habitat for a varied microbiota with great biotechnological potential.
Keywords: Northem Chile, Atacama desert, Industrial minerals, Saline deposits.
