Enrichment and Dilution in the Atacama Mining Desert: Writing History from an Earth-Centered Perspective

Abstract

The essay examines terrestrial and geopolitical conditions in contemporary societies. It straddles societal and terrestrial scales by focusing on the Atacama Desert and the geological processes this landscape exposes. The objects under examination are two such processes, both (geo)chemical in origin: enrichment and dilution. These are economic as well as cultural social processes. Both determine the history of the copper mines’ waste and the efforts to either commodify this waste or store it away in the desert surroundings. While many actors use this desert landscape as an ultimate sink, the Atacama Desert undermines these projects. It releases hazardous materials and preserves evidence of violence and injustice.