Mapocho. Yacimiento de nitrato. Chile. Circa 1933.

Vintage gelatin silver photograph in black and white, with the classic white margin and in the measurement of: 25.5 x 33.2 cm / 10.03 x 13.07 in. On the back of the work is the author's wet stamp: “Photograph by Frank Eherenford. 26 Broadway. New York” and includes the handwritten title, as well as a precise description of the printed image in English: “Nitrate industry in Chile. Loading nitrate into the plant. As the stored nitrate piles move away from the railroad tracks, the autoloaders are placed in line to transfer the nitrate to the railcars”. This photo belongs to "Shanks Series No. 30".

Chile is the only producer of nitrates or saltpeter from caliche in the world. We must point out that the technical process introduced by the Englishman James Shanks allowed through a series of steps to obtain higher volumes of nitrate. Caliche is a deposit that is located in sedimentary rock strata in the Pampa Calichera, which allowed the development of this industry in the past and which triggered the War of the Pacific. In the 1970s, the state nitrate company was privatized, creating the Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile, now SQM.

This documentary photograph about hard mining work was made in Chile by the American Frank Ehrenford in the 1930s. It is known that this professional of the camera was very active towards this decade. In 1933 his studio was located at 26 Broadway in the heart of Manhattan; His works on the Riverside Church in New York are known, which photographically illustrated the book "The Riverside Church" published on January 1, 1931.