Chile's Codelco Partially Restarts El Teniente Mine After Fatal Accident Killing Six Miners, 2,480 Workers Return

Chile's state-owned copper producer Codelco has received regulatory approval to partially resume underground operations at its El Teniente mine following a fatal accident that resulted in six miner deaths. The Chilean mining authority Sernageomin and the labor inspectorate, Dirección del Trabajo, authorized the phased reopening of unaffected sectors of the mine. Approximately 2,480 workers have returned to work at El Teniente, the company's largest copper mine. The accident, which occurred nine days prior to the resumption, involved a seismic event that caused more damage than initially expected. Codelco has stated that it has reinforced safety measures ahead of the partial restart. Despite the resumption of output, the mine collapse continues to impact Codelco's debt profile. There are ongoing concerns about the potential effects of the incident on Codelco's structural projects and its goal of reaching 1.7 million tons of copper production by 2030.