Chilean police block copper concentrate robbery from Escondida

Eleven people were apprehended by the Chilean police after being caught stealing four bags of copper concentrate from BHP’s Escondida copper mine in northern Chile, the world’s largest.

The thieves, however, were planning to steal way more metal as they were carrying with them 325 empty bags, in addition to tools such as chisels, shovels and sieves.

The group was discovered when a police unit was passing through Antofagasta’s route B475 on Saturday and detected unusual activities at the mine.

When interrogated about their presence at the operation, the men failed to explain themselves. Police, then, contacted Escondida’s management who confirmed that the intruders were not employed by BHP.

The men were brought to Antofagasta’s prosecutor’s office, who then passed on the case to the relevant criminal court. They were accused of robbery in an inhabited location, detained for a few hours and then released.

According to police, five of the people involved in the incident were Chileans with a long history of criminal offences; another five were undocumented Venezuelans and one of them was an undocumented Colombian.