A giant sinkhole 25 meters wide and 200 meters deep has suddenly opened up near a copper mine in Chile, prompting officials to launch an investigation. no Saturday
It appeared in an agricultural area outside Tierra Amarilla, in the Atacama region, about 665 km north of Santiago, on land owned by the Canadian mining company Lundin Mining.
The sinkhole opened in Chile on land owned by a Canadian mining company. (Sernageomin) The sinkhole is about 25 meters in diameter. (Supplied) “There is a considerable distance, approximately 200 meters, to the bottom,” David Montenegro, director of Sernageomin, said in a statement.
“We didn’t detect any material down there, but we did see the presence of a lot of water.”
Sernageomin officials are now preparing a technical report on the sinkhole.
A security perimeter of 100 meters has also been established around the sinkhole.
“This event did not affect people, equipment or facilities both inside and on the surface of the mine,” Montenegro said.
“The company suspended the work located in the vertical part of the sinkhole, trying, at all times, to protect the people who work in Alcaparrosa.
“Similarly, Minera Ojos del Salado closed the perimeter of the sinkhole to protect the community.”
Caravan and shed swallowed by a sinkhole after the flood
It is currently unclear what caused the sinkhole to form.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines sinkholes as “an enclosed natural depression in the ground surface caused by the removal of subsurface material and the subsidence or gradual sinking of the surface into the resulting void.”