main export at the time, collapsed because of the production of artificial nitrates, first synthesized in Germany through a combination of the Haber process and the Ostwald process. As a result, Chile's economy shifted toward dependence on the copper industry. During this period, copper was described as "Chile's salary". By the late 1950s, the three largest copper mines in Chile were Chuquicamata, El Salvador mine, and El Teniente. Chuquicamata and El Salvador were owned and operated by the Anaconda Copper Company. These mines gave rise to largely self-contained and self-sustaining settlements, complete with housing for workers, water and electrical plants, schools, stores, railways, and police forces. In 1971, Chile's newly elected president Salvador Allende expropriated the Chuquicamata mine. Anaconda lost two-thirds of its copper production. After the Chilean military overthrew Allende in a CIA-backed coup in 1973, the new military government paid Anaconda $250 million in compensation. See also Escondida Chanarcillo El Salvador mine El Teniente Los Pelambres mine Potrerillos, Chile Chilean nationalization of copper Geology of Chile Mir mine References Further reading External links Imágenes 3D en Google Codelco Chile - Chuquicamata info Chuqui: The Life and Death of a Mining Town - Documentary video about the last days of the town of Chuquicamata </ref> Anaconda Copper Atacama Desert Copper mines in Chile Geological type localities Mines in Antofagasta Region Open-pit mines Surface mines in Chile