Operations at BHP’s Escondida mine in Chile, the world’s largest copper mine, were suspended Wednesday after a worker died while doing maintenance, the company said. BHP gave no restart date; the site’s union said a front-end loader was involved.
Escondida is in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Mines in Chile typically may resume after a fatal incident only once inspectors verify that conditions are safe enough for a restart.
BHP had estimated Escondida would produce up to 1.28 million metric tons of copper this year. BHP operates the mine; Rio Tinto holds a 30% stake and Japan-based JECO Corp. holds 12.5%.
