Peru’s Antamina halts mining after manager dies in accident

Operations at Peru’s Antamina, one of the world’s biggest copper mines, remains halted after an accident claimed the life of a senior manager and injured another employee.

The Antamina copper and zinc mine — owned by BHP Group, Glencore Plc, Teck Resources Ltd. — is working with Peruvian authorities to investigate the Tuesday incident, the operating company said in a statement.

Senior operations manager Edwin Colque Calisaya died in an accident at the Yanacancha area of the open-pit mine in the Andes Mountains north of Lima, Antamina said, without giving details. Photos posted on social media showed a passenger vehicle crushed by a giant haul truck.

The incident triggered a full safety shutdown, which was still in effect on Wednesday, a company spokesperson said. An extended stoppage at a mine that churned out 435,000 metric tons last year could further tighten global supplies of semi-processed copper known as concentrate.

In February, Peruvian authorities approved a key permit allowing a $2 billion extension at Antamina to proceed. The permit comes as the No. 2 copper-producing nation faces a dearth of new projects that threatens to constrain future production growth.

(By James Attwood)

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