Mining operations have resumed at the Collahuasi copper mine in Chile. The world’s third largest copper mine had seen a production halt following the death of a worker. The mine had an output of 453,000 tonnes of copper last year. This was down by 10% compared to the previous year.
The mine which is jointly operated by Anglo American Plc and Xstrata Plc was shut down pending the investigation into the death of Christian Araya at the sulfur plant at the mine. The death of the plant operator occurred on Feb 20, 2012 and mining and plant operations were shut down.
Spokeswoman for the mine Bernardita Fernandez said that the investigation into the death of the worker would continue even as the mining operations resumed. Production at the copper mine in Chile were disrupted earlier this week by a snowstorm as well.
The mining stoppage is likely to affect the output of Collahuasi, but the exact impact is not yet known. The mine produced 3% of the world’s copper last year despite a number of accidents, and severe weather causing work stoppages. In fact its 453,000 tones production last year is the lowest production figure the mine has had since 2007.