Fantastic mineral specimens and rare micromounts from the copper mines of the Atakama Desert, fossil shark teeth from the world-famous discovery site in Caldera as well as artistically designed handicrafts from lapis lazuli and combarbalita - Chile has a lot to offer for lovers of beautiful stones. Due to its unique topography, this country is also extremely interesting for tourists. From Antarctica in the south over the fjords of Tierra del Fuego to one of the driest areas on earth, the 'Atacama Desert' in the north - Chile stretches for around 4,300 km from north to south. In contrast, it is mostly only a few hundred kilometers in the east-west direction between the Pacific Ocean in the west and Argentina and Bolivia in the east. The country is also cut through by gigantic mountain ranges, the 'Cordillera de los Andes' with many volcanoes, some of which are still active.

The economic boom of the last 15-20 years has given Chile the status of an emerging country. Targeted promotion of the export economy (mineral resources and agriculture and forestry) has made the country the most stable economy in South America. Unfortunately, the fact that Chile has also become the most interesting country for investors in South America has led to entire mining districts being sold to large mining companies, who now operate mining on a modern and highly industrial scale. This explains why there have been no major new finds or productive deliveries from well-known mines in recent years. In Chile there is simply hardly the little 'minero' (miner) who finds the time to put a few nice pieces aside during his work, which he then sells to interested parties to improve his wages. Nowadays there is a big blast, with huge wheel loaders loaded onto even bigger trucks, which bring the mineral to rock mills, where it is ground up and then processed with acids. A single beautiful stone has no chance in this process ...