But in Chile, bacteria are being used to get at something this country heavily depends on: copper.
Chile is the world's biggest copper exporter, and has the planet's largest known reserves of the red metal.
The Atacama Desert, a desolate rocky plateau west of the Andes mountains, is dotted with copper mines.
Every now and then, a mining train passes through the arid landscape. Here and there the ruins of tiny towns still stand where miners used to live decades ago, their mud huts gradually falling to pieces under the baking sun.
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