Out there in the desolate, lunar like desert of northern Chile is a mineral-rich ore called caliche -- once known as white gold.

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The court halted mining of the ore in the mineral-rich state in 2011 after social activist group Samaj Parivartan Samuday alleged that rampant illegal mining had damaged the environment.

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Depending on whether it was just a fluke occurrence or a sign that the constitution of the oil sands it processes is changing, the company could either retool its extraction process or, if the problem is a short-term one, blend the rich ore with more normal inputs.

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