Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the great shots! Your altitude there at the mine at 2500m is
very similar to the observatory at Paranal at 2600m. However, whereas
the Atacama desert is one of the driest places on Earth, your location further
East will be considerably moister and the clouds in some of your pictures
are testimony to that. Nevertheless, if you can get an opportunity to get
away from the light pollution of the mine during a dry spell, the observing
locale could undoubtedly be among the best on the planet.
If you get the opportunity, we'd love to hear the description!
That beetle certainly is
very interesting too!
Go safely!
Best regards
Gary