Codelco restarted underground and processing activities at its biggest copper mine, El Teniente, a little more than a week after suffering Chile’s deadliest mining accident in decades.

The state-owned company restarted operations over the weekend at eight underground areas deemed safe by mining and labor authorities, as well as at its smelter, Codelco said. Four other sections of the mine — near where the July 31 collapse occurred — will remain off limits as an investigation continues.

“The eight that are opening represent approximately 82% of production, and the recovery is gradual,” Mining Minister Aurora Williams said Monday in an interview with Radio ADN.

A return to work is a major boost for Codelco as the company grapples with the fallout from an incident that left six people dead and presents a sizable setback to the company’s efforts to recover from a years-long slump in production. The areas still closed include new parts of the deposit that are crucial for production in the years ahead.

On Thursday, the Public Prosecutor’s Office said inspections had shown damage to 3,700 meters (12,000 feet) of tunnel, which is about five times more than initial calculations given by Codelco.

On Monday, Codelco announced the departure of El Teniente boss Andrés Music, who will be replaced on an interim basis by operations manager Claudio Sougarret.

“This decision is not a response to the assignment of any responsibility, but rather stems exclusively from the need to focus the division’s attention on the challenges posed by the implementation of the Safe and Gradual Return Plan,” Codelco said.

(By James Attwood)

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