Chilean state miner Codelco said on Friday it had suspended operations at its northern copper mines Chuquicamata and Ministro Hales amid heavy rain.
Codelco said it had sent its daytime shift of workers home as a preventative measure and would evaluate whether to cancel its night shift as well.
It said emergency teams had been deployed to both mines along with management staff to monitor and mitigate any impact caused by the weather.
Codelco also confirmed that a polycarbonate roof had collapsed in an “industrial site” operated by a third party contractor at Chuquicamata mine, the state miner’s second largest by output. It said the collapse had not resulted in any injuries.
Ministro Hales produced around 215,000 tonnes of copper in 2017. Codelco is the world’s No. 1 copper producer.
