Singapore 01/09/2016 - Chile’s mining regulator on Tuesday ordered a halt to certain operations of two major copper mines - one owned by Codelco and the other by Freeport-McMoran - following separate fatal accidents.
The Chilean National Geology and Mining (Sernageomin) has ordered the partial and temporary suspension of operations and investigations of fatal accidents on August 30 at the Chuquicamata mine owned by Codelco and the El Abra copper mine owned by Freeport, Sernageomin said a notice on Wednesday.
For Chuquicamata, the suspension is at the mining pit, while El Abra’s is at the terminal station and acid transport, it said.
Both companies had already suspended the operations after the accidents.
Two workers at Codelco’s Chuquicamata division died in the accident, while there was one fatality and three injuries at El Abra’s terminal acid discharge operations on August 30.
Chuquicamata is Codelco's second biggest operation. It produced 309,000 tonnes of cathodes last year, which represented 16 percent of the company's total output.
El Abra is 51 percent owned by Freeport and 49 percent by Codelco. It produced 147,200 tonnes of copper cathodes last year.
Both mines are located in the Antofagasta region.