By Ira Iosebashvili
SANTIAGO, Chile--Chile's Collahuasi copper mine, partially owned
by Anglo American PLC, is almost fully operational after a major
earthquake hit the country last week, a top company executive told
The Wall Street Journal.
The mine is running at 90% capacity, "as of Monday morning,"
Hennie Faul, chief executive of copper for Anglo American, said
Tuesday.
The Patache port, which was closed due to a tsunami that
followed the 8.2-magnitude quake, has been reopened as well, Mr.
Faul said.
"That was a very big quake," he said. "Chile was very
lucky."
Collahuasi is a partnership between Anglo American and Glencore
Xstrata. The mine produced 445,000 tons of copper last year and
accounts for nearly 6% of Chile's overall output of the industrial
metal.
Anglo American, the world's fifth-largest diversified miner by
market capitalization, had stopped operations and sent around 1,000
workers to safety after the earthquake struck off the coast of
northern Chile in April. No workers were injured as a result of the
earthquake, and facilities at the mine, which are built to
withstand earthquakes, escaped relatively unscathed, the company
said last week.
The mine is located high in the mountains, nearly 200 kilometers
from the city of Iquique. The earthquake's epicenter was believed
to be around 99 kilometers from the city, according to the U.S.
Geological Survey.
--Alexis Flynn contributed to this article.
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