There was a time when this site was a bustling processing mine that produced nitrates that fertilized almost all the world crops. More than 100 years later, it is preserved by the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. There was a timeThere was a time when this site was a bustling processing mine that produced nitrates that fertilized almost all the world crops. More than 100 years later, it is preserved by the Atacama Desert in northern Chile.