An “English style” mining company

In the mid-19th century, several mining projects were developed in the west of Catamarca province (Argentina), mainly dedicated to the exploitation of copper. In that context, the Casa Lafone stood out –among other things– for presenting itself as an “English-style” company, differentiated from the rest by the technology used and by the way in which the tasks and different aspects related to the workers' lives were organized. In this paper we seek to characterize the operation of this mining establishment by focusing on the way in which people lived, worked and circulated as a result of spatial and architectural reconfigurations and, consequently, of times, rhythms, types and forms of work. We propose that these reconfigurations constituted subtle but no less powerful forms of workers control and discipline that, together with other actions, implied major changes and impacts on the landscape and resources and mainly on the life of the people who lived and worked there.