The risk of “deep seismicity” prompted the state-owned company to halt operations at the project located in the El Teniente Division.
Codelco temporarily suspended development and construction activities at Andes Norte, one of the most important structural projects for the future of the El Teniente Division, after identifying new technical information related to the risk of deep seismicity.
The measure, announced yesterday, is intended to safeguard workers while the company conducts further studies into an “emerging seismic phenomenon,” whose characteristics appear to differ from the risks historically known and managed at the operation.
The decision could affect nearly 3,000 workers, although that figure has yet to be confirmed, as well as at least four contractor companies involved in the works.
For Codelco, the impact goes beyond the temporary shutdown of a project, the duration of which remains unknown. Andes Norte is expected to become one of the state-owned miner’s main production pillars over the coming decades, at a time when the company is seeking to restore its production levels and ensure the operational continuity of its most important deposits.
What is Andes Norte?
The Andes Norte Project, also known as Andes Norte Nuevo Nivel Mina (New Mine Level), represents the first stage in the deepening of the El Teniente deposit, located in the municipality of Machalí, in Chile’s O’Higgins Region, approximately 35 kilometers northeast of Rancagua.
Its main objective is to extend the life of the century-old operation by approximately 50 years by incorporating reserves located at greater depths as the upper sections currently being mined are depleted.
The new level is located approximately 300 meters below the current production areas and reaches total depths of nearly 1,880 meters.
Andes Norte has reserves of 375 million tonnes, with an average copper grade of 0.99%, and is expected to process approximately 35,000 tonnes of ore per day once it reaches full production.
Due to the high stresses within the rock mass, the project uses the panel caving mining method, involving conventional caving, high undercutting, and hydraulic fracturing.
Its infrastructure includes a new production level, access facilities, ventilation and drainage systems, ore-handling facilities, and a primary crushing cavern with a volume of approximately 84,000 cubic meters.
7% of Current Production
According to Juan Carlos Guajardo, founder of consulting firm Plusmining, Andes Norte was expected to reach steady-state production of approximately 105,000 tonnes of copper per year, equivalent to around 7% of Codelco’s current production.
The suspension means that this contribution will be postponed for an as-yet undetermined period, depending on the results of technical studies, improvements to monitoring systems, and the implementation of new control measures.
“This confirms the view that returning to higher production levels will be very difficult,” Guajardo told Bloomberg.
The specialist added that “Codelco must now focus on restoring operational efficiency and carefully reviewing its projects. It should only begin a new phase once those foundations have been established.”
The project involves an investment of between US$1.9 billion and US$1.931 billion and forms part of the so-called Teniente Project Portfolio, developed to replace the original Nuevo Nivel Mina project.
Together with Diamante and Andesita, Andes Norte is intended to bring approximately 2 billion tonnes of reserves into production and maintain ore processing of around 137,000 tonnes per day at El Teniente over the long term.
The First Blast
On May 22, 2025, at 3:56 p.m., Codelco carried out the first blast at Andes Norte’s undercut level, marking the start of operations in the new sector.
The state-owned company’s then CEO, Rubén Alvarado, initiated the blast, accompanied by executives, workers, and representatives of the El Teniente Division.
“This is a long story that began with Nuevo Nivel Mina, where we have seen an example of perseverance, resilience, and learning.Today, we are giving El Teniente another 50 years of production, another 50 years of development for Chile,” Alvarado said.
At the time, Codelco’s Vice President of Operations, Mauricio Barraza, said Andes Norte represented “the third major deepening undertaken by the El Teniente Division in its 120-year history.”
Barraza also warned that the project was located in “an area subject to high stresses, with a different seismic risk,” although he expressed confidence that workers would be able to meet the sector’s production targets.
During 2025, Andes Norte reached 81% physical completion. Construction work resumed in October of that year under a restart plan implemented following the seismic event that occurred in July.
The information gathered over the past six months has now prompted the state-owned company to reassess the conditions under which the project can proceed.
Juan Ignacio Guzmán, CEO of GEM Mining Consulting, also said that “the suspension of activities means the project will continue to be delayed and consume resources without generating a return in terms of revenue.”
“So, it is the future of the division that is at stake. Having said that, there could be short-term impacts on costs. Obviously, we should expect the greater impacts to emerge in the years ahead.”
Concern in Congress
For their part, members of Congress, while supporting the safety decision taken by the state-owned copper producer, expressed concern about its impact on the jobs that could be affected.
“Experience tells us that if there is a thorough study, if there is an in-depth analysis, workers’ lives and health cannot be put at risk,” Cristián Tapia (Ind.-PPD), chairman of the Chamber of Deputies’ Mining and Energy Committee, told Emol.
He also said that Codelco would be summoned to appear before the committee the following week to provide details on the technical grounds behind the decision.
“We do not want injured workers, and we do not want them exposed to these risks, but we are also concerned about the employment issue, which is very important,” he said. He further stressed that “an operation cannot take precedence over workers’ lives.”
Deputy Carlo Arqueros of the Republican Party, a member of the Mining Committee, said the decision was unavoidable if technical evidence indicated that people’s safety was at risk. “Worker safety must always take precedence over any production consideration,” he said.
“We are talking about a strategic project and nearly 3,000 workers who are now facing uncertainty,” he said, adding that he hoped the studies would allow construction to resume “once all safety guarantees are in place.”
Source: El Mercurio