By Robert Kozak
Chile's government has declared a state of emergency in the
northern regions of Atacama and Antofagasta, due to torrential
rains that have temporarily closed various copper-mining
operations.
Deputy Interior Minister Mahmud Aleuy said Thursday that the
flooding has left seven dead and 19 missing.
Chile's air force was bringing aid such as drinking water and
blankets to areas hit by the flooding, while other branches of the
military have started to provide security, government officials
said.
The heavy rains caused various mines to close and helped push
the price of copper higher, mining sector analysts said.
On Thursday, May delivery copper closed up 1.90 cents, or 0.7%
at $2.811 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
Chile is the world's biggest producer of copper.
State-owned copper company Corporación Nacional del Cobre de
Chile, or Codelco, said Thursday it had restarted operations at its
Distrito Norte mines that had been closed due to flooding
Wednesday. The slowdown affected its Chuquicamata, Ministro Hales,
Radomiro Tomic and Gabriela Mistral divisions.
Chile's Antofagasta PLC also shut some mines as a precautionary
measure on Wednesday.
"We suspended operations at our Michilla and Centinela copper
mines and at the Antucoya project (to be inaugurated later this
year). All of these operations are in northern Chile, with the
closest cities being Antofagasta and Calama," a company spokeswoman
said in an email.
"At our Pelambres mine, which is further south, closer to La
Serena, our operations are normal," she added.
Canada's Lundin Mining Corp. said its mining and milling
operations at its Candelaria mine had restarted. It closed that
mine and the Ojos del Salado mine due to the heavy rains and
flooding that affected power and access.
Mining company Anglo American said Thursday that its Mantoverde
open- pit copper-mine remained closed due to problems with
electricity supplies.
Chilean airline LAN said it had canceled some flights to the
northern regions. The airport in Antofagasta has been closed
temporarily.
Newspaper Diaro Financiero reported that Chile's National
Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism found that 85% of
businesses in Antofogasta and Copiapo had suffered flood
damage.
Write to Robert Kozak at robert.kozak@wsj.com
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