REUTERS/Fabian Cambero/File Phot
Chilean copper large Codelco acknowledged on Friday that it goals to succeed in 5 trapped employees at its flagship El Teniente mine inside the subsequent 12 hours, after a collapse that resulted in a single fatality.
The incident triggered aftershocks which have made it unattainable for rescuers to succeed in the realm the place employees are trapped, El Teniente’s General Manager Andres Music instructed a press convention.
“The tunnels are closed, they’ve collapsed. There’s no possibility of even radio communication,” he stated.
Codelco anticipated aftershocks to decrease inside the subsequent 12 hours, permitting the miner to ship remotely operated tools, much like robots or drones, to assist employees clear materials blocking the tunnels, Music stated.
Codelco has halted copper extraction operations however is continuous to function its concentrator and smelter, stated Amador Pantoja, one of many 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 stated. “It’s the mine that is currently shut down.”
Codelco is investigating whether or not the incident was resulting from pure causes within the earthquake-prone nation, or mining exercise, he stated.
“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 stated.
Nearly 100 individuals had been on website to assist within the rescue, he stated, noting the following 48 hours can be important. He stated neither explosives nor drilling had induced the accident.
Music didn’t tackle how the incident would have an effect on Codelco’s output in producing areas of El Teniente. Codelco is because of report its monetary outcomes for the primary half of the 12 months on Friday, as beforehand scheduled.
