Codelco aims to reach five trapped miners in Chile within 12 hours
REUTERS/Fabian Cambero/File Phot
Chilean copper giant Codelco stated on Friday that it aims to reach five trapped workers at its flagship El Teniente mine within the next 12 hours, after a collapse that resulted in one fatality.
The workers have been trapped for 18 hours without any contact with teams outside after a 4.2 magnitude tremor on Thursday rocked the new Andesita unit of the massive mine, which is the world's largest underground copper deposit, News.Az reports citing Reuters.
The incident triggered aftershocks that have made it impossible for rescuers to reach the area where workers are trapped, El Teniente's General Manager Andres Music told a press conference.
"The tunnels are closed, they've collapsed. There's no possibility of even radio communication," he said.
Codelco expected aftershocks to diminish within the next 12 hours, allowing the miner to send remotely operated equipment, similar to robots or drones, to help workers clear material blocking the tunnels, Music said.
Codelco has halted copper extraction operations but is continuing to operate its concentrator and smelter, said Amador Pantoja, one of the union leaders at El Teniente.
"The plant and the smelter are operating normally, as we always have a supply of both ore and concentrate," he said. "It's the mine that is currently shut down."
Codelco is investigating whether the incident was due to natural causes in the earthquake-prone country, or mining activity, he said.
"The event we recorded yesterday is one of the largest events - if not the largest - that the El Teniente mine has experienced in decades," Music said.
Nearly 100 people were on site to aid in the rescue, he said, noting the next 48 hours would be critical. He said neither explosives nor drilling had caused the accident.
Music did not address how the incident would affect Codelco's output in producing areas of El Teniente. Codelco is due to report its financial results for the first half of the year on Friday, as previously scheduled.
Similar news
