12,000-year-old mine found in Chile

Archaeologists from the University of Chile have discovered a 12,000-year-old iron oxide mine in the north of the country. 

Researchers say it is the oldest mine discovered in all the Americas.

Chief researcher Diego Salazar said the iron oxide was used by Huentelauquen Indians as a pigment in dying cloth and in religious rituals, revealing an unexpected sophistication in what was previously considered a primitive group of people.
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The ancient mine was discovered near the town of Taltal, in the Antofagasta region, 1,100 kilometres north of Santiago, in October 2008, but its antiquity was not determined until tests were conducted this year in US and Polish laboratories.
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Before this find, the oldest mine in the Americas was 2,500 years old and located in the United States.

The world's most ancient mine is in South Africa and is about 40,000 years old.

But..  But..  Isn't the world only 6000 years old?