One Dead, Five Missing After Earthquake Triggers Collapse at Chile’s El Teniente Copper Mine
El Teniente Mine Collapse: One Dead, Five Missing After 4.2-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Codelco Site
One worker has died and five remain missing following a structural collapse at the Andesita project within Codelco’s El Teniente copper mine, after a 4.2-magnitude earthquake struck central Chile on Thursday evening. The mine, located 75 km southeast of Santiago, is the world’s largest underground copper operation.
State-owned copper giant Codelco confirmed the death of Paulo Marín Tapia and reported that nine other workers sustained injuries, though none were life-threatening.
Rescue efforts have been hampered due to the instability of the collapse zone. As of Friday afternoon, emergency teams had not yet reached the site of the incident, located in the Teniente Siete sector, about 550 meters underground. Officials are hopeful that access can be gained within the next 12 hours as aftershocks subside.
“The event we recorded yesterday is one of the largest — if not the largest — that the El Teniente mine has experienced in decades,” said Andrés Music, general manager of El Teniente.
He added that remotely operated machinery will be deployed to clear debris and assist in reaching the trapped miners, calling the next 48 hours ‘critical.’
Operations at the mine were immediately suspended following the incident. While the concentrator and smelter initially remained active, Chile’s Minister of Mines, Aurora Williams, announced the full suspension of activities at El Teniente on Friday afternoon pending investigation.
Codelco has launched a formal inquiry to determine whether the collapse was triggered solely by seismic activity or exacerbated by mining operations.
The Andesita project, formerly known as the New Mine Level, lies beneath the older Quebrada Teniente production zone and was scheduled to begin production in the second quarter of 2025.
Its goal is to access deeper ore bodies as upper-level reserves near depletion, expanding the mine’s reach by an additional 180 meters.
Since opening in 1905, El Teniente has developed over 4,500 kilometers of tunnels and galleries through the Andes Mountains.
In 2024, the mine produced 356,000 metric tonnes of copper, reinforcing its role as a cornerstone of Chile’s global mining leadership.
Codelco and Chilean authorities continue to monitor the situation closely, as families and workers await news of the missing individuals.
