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Historical Outline On April 29, 1905, a decree from the Ministry of Finance authorized the establishment in Chile of the US Braden Copper Company, for the operation of the El Teniente copper site, which had been abandoned since the end of the 19th century.
However, it was not until March, 1915, that this industrial town was given the name of "Sewell", in memory of Barton Sewell, a high executive of Braden Copper who passed away that year in New York. He never visited Chile, but always supported William Braden's idea of investing in El Teniente. Through the years, the camp and the facilities improved as copper production increased, thus becoming a city. More than just a territorial expansion, Sewell's urban structure featured an increase in population and in height, with its share of buildings subject to accidents and destruction due to the climatic and topographical conditions of the area. Today... Today, Sewell is a working area with a Concentrator of the same name, and a few industrial facilities still in operation. Access is through the "Carretera El Cobre". The campgrounds still house about fifty of the original buildings. These buildings have been restored to welcome the general public. In the mean time, was inaugurated in the 2002, the first stage of the Great Mining Museum, that has been planned to preserve the rich history of Chilean copper industry.
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Braden
Copper began a well planned group of works, starting with the construction
of a cart road, and then a railroad as means of transportation.
Next, they fitted out a commercial office in Graneros and warehouses
in La Compañía. They reopened the mine; built a concentrator
and sleeping quarters; established an industrial park in Rancagua,
and hired employees, among other things.
Between
1905 and 1906, aside from small camps built near the original lode
to be operated, an "ore processing facility" was built
on the hillside of a mountain near the mine. This facility consisted
of a concentration plant or mill -able to process 250 tons of ore
daily, brought from the deposit via "aerial tram"- and
a "dynamo" which provided electric power. 
