Supplying Extraction:  DuPont and the Chemistry of Mining in Chile

Twentieth-century Chile relied heavily on its copper mining industry, which was vulnerable to disruption due to its dependance on foreign supplies of blasting powder. It was to address this strategic weakness that Chilean leaders formulated a plan to lure a powder manufacturer from the Global North to open a plant in Chile.

In her latest research, Dr. Ángela Vergara, professor at California State University at Los Angeles, uncovers the story of DuPont in Chile, including its plant in built to supply the domestic copper mining industry, and other business ventures like licensing DuPont synthetic textile technology to Chilean manufacturers. DuPont promoted its plant as a safe workplace with reduced risk of harm, but Dr. Vergara found evidence that workers suffered from respiratory and dermatological conditions, and blamed the plant environment.

In support of her research, Dr. Vergara received funding from the Center for the History of Business, Technology, and Society at the Hagley Museum and Library.