Chile copper, lithium mines rattled by 7.4-magnitude quake
The earthquake struck 45 km outside San Pedro de Atacama, northern Chile, home to country's major copper and lithium mines.
A 22-year-old man died early Friday morning while performing maintenance work at La Escondida copper mine in Chile.
The man was identified as Rudy Henry Ortiz Martínez and he belonged to Cainsa, a subcontractor that works within the project 57.5% owned by BHP Billiton and 30% owned by Rio Tinto.
Ortiz was working in the SAG mill and found himself stuck in the cap lining. His co-workers’ efforts to aid him were unsuccessful.
Both La Escondida and Cainsa immediately notified local authorities about the incident, so they can start to investigate the causes that led to the fatal accident.
Activities at the mine remain suspended until further notice.
La Escondida is said to be the highest producing copper mine in the world. Its production for the 2016 financial year was of 979 kt, and it’s expected to reach 1,070 kt in the 2017 financial year.
