Chuquicamata was a city located in the Chilean region of Anatofagasta, near the city of Calama in the Northern part of the region. It is now was referred to as Chuqui by its residents.
The area of Chuquicamata was used as a copper mine by the native people of the region as long as 3000 years ago. The town of Chuquicamata was built up around the copper mine of the same name starting around 1917 as a worker camp. At its height, Chuquicamata had a population of around 20,000 people. Although no longer a city, Chuquicamata is the largest open pit copper mine in the world
Due to health and environmental concerns, the town was officially closed in 2007, and its residents were relocated to the nearby town of Calma, and permanent residences are not allowed within a 10km radius around the mine.
Than name of Chuquicamata is believed to derive from Aymaran. "Chuqui" referring to the Chuco people who used to mine in the area, and "camata", meaning "the limit of". The name is then thought to mean "The range/limit of the Chuco people".
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