The poor pun is intended. Humberstone was founded in 1872 for the mining of salitre (sodium nitrate), which was used in the manufacture of explosives. It was one of many such towns, and the business was lucrative, salitre being nicknamed "white gold." In the 1930s synthetic nitrate was developed, and the industry suffered. The Humberstone mine was closed in 1960, and the town was abandoned. There were many such towns, and little is left of them. But in 1971, the Chilean government declared Humberstone and neighboring Santa Laura a national monument and they were made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005, so they are mostly preserved. They are located near Iquique, Chile.