Chuquicamata (chOO"kēkämä'tä) [key], town (1992 pop. 12,722), Antofagasta region, N Chile, on the western slopes of the Andes. At an elevation of 10,435 ft (3,181 m), Chuquicamata has one of the world's largest copper mines. The extensive open-pit mining of the region dates to 1915. Smelting and flotation plants began operations in 1951; an expansion of refining plants in 1970 substantially increased copper output.
