Chile's Codelco Restarts Operations at El Teniente Mine

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Codelco (Santiago, Chile) has received institutional approval to restart sections of one of its largest copper mines after the collapse in one of its areas on July 31.

Chilean state-owned miner Codelco received the regulatory approval from Chile's National Geology and Mining Service (SERNAGEOMIN) and the labor inspector's office on August 9 to restart operations in parts of its El Teniente mine, which shut down on July 31 after the collapse in one of its areas that led to the death of six miners.

The company has informed that operations resumed gradually, starting Saturday night, with approximately 200 employees, accounting for 70% of the regular weekend staff. Full normalization was expected by Sunday.

"During this first shift, ore shipments to the plant were approximately 50% lower than usual. At the same time, operations at the plant and smelter resumed," mentioned Codelco in a statement.

According to company information, the mine's Pilar Norte, Panel Esmeralda, Esmeralda, Pacífico Superior, Diablo Regimiento, Panel Reno, Dacita, and Reservas Norte areas have received approval to restart operations, while the Recursos Norte, Andesita, Andes Norte and Diamante were still suspended by August 10.

Ongoing inspections were taking place in the Andes Norte area over the weekend, while an internal commission is still investigating the reasons behind the accident.

On July 31, an area of the El Teniente mine collapsed, killing six workers. Following the accident, the company stopped operations of the mine and launched a rescue mission, which confirmed the death of the miners. The government announced three mourning days, while Codelco vowed to investigate the reasons behind the collapse.

El Teniente mine is one of Codelco's largest assets, producing 356,400 tons of copper in 2024. Meanwhile, between January and May this year, the asset's output reached 141,400 tons, almost 12% more than during the same period last year.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Plant Database can click here for a profile on the El Teniente mine.

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