A view of a main access of an artisanal mine, called "Pique", at the "Inca de Oro" (Inca gold) town,...
A view of a main access of an artisanal mine, called "Pique", at the "Inca de Oro" (Inca gold) town, near Copiapo city, north of Santiago, Chile, December 14, 2015. As copper prices have slid to a more than six-year low, miners laboring away at the countless smaller mines that pock mark the Atacama desert are finding the buckets of ore they spend all day digging from the ground are fetching less and less money. Some are responding by turning to gold mining, others are finding work in growing industries like renewable energy, while a dwindling few are hanging on, hoping prices will yet recover. Picture taken December 14, 2015. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado