Home / Business and Economy / Codelco Resumes Partial Underground Operations at El Teniente Mine
Codelco Resumes Partial Underground Operations at El Teniente Mine
9 Aug
Summary
- Codelco received approval to restart some underground activities at El Teniente mine
- Restart plan covers several areas, while new sections near collapse remain off-limits
- Labor regulators still need to sign off on the partial restart plan
On August 9th, 2025, Codelco, Chile's state-owned copper company, announced that it has secured approval from the country's geology and mining service, Sernageomin, to partially and progressively restart underground activities at its largest copper mine, El Teniente. This comes just a week after a fatal accident at the mine led to a complete halt in operations.
The restart plan approved by Sernageomin covers several areas of the El Teniente mine, while new sections near where the recent collapse occurred will remain off-limits until labor regulators provide their final sign-off. Codelco stated that the partial and gradual resumption of underground work at the mine is a crucial step in restoring normal operations.
El Teniente, located in central Chile, is Codelco's biggest copper mine and one of the largest underground copper operations in the world. The recent fatal accident that prompted the temporary shutdown has been a significant setback for the company, but this latest development suggests a cautious return to production is now underway.
