Experts in Chile were investigating this Tuesday a huge sinkhole, bigger than a tennis court, that has appeared near a copper mine in the Atacama desert.
Experts were sent to examine the hole, about 32 meters (104 feet) in diameter and twice as deep, which appeared in an area nearly 500 miles north of Santiago over the weekend, the Service said National Institute of Geology and Mines (Sernageomin) in a statement. .
Aerial view taken on August 1, 2022, showing a large sinkhole that appeared over the weekend near the mining town of Tierra Amarilla, Copiapó province, in Chile’s Atacama desert. JOHAN GODOY/AFP via Getty Images
A security perimeter of 100 meters has been erected around the hole in the municipality of Tierra Amarilla, near the Alcaparrosa mine operated by the Canadian firm Lundin Mining.
The company said in a statement that there had been “no impact to personnel, equipment or infrastructure” and that the sinkhole had remained stable since its detection.
As a preventive measure, “urbanization works have been temporarily suspended in an area of the Alcaparrosa underground mine”, the company has informed.
Sernageomin director David Montenegro said experts will try to determine the cause of the collapse and “ensure that all safety measures are taken to safeguard the lives of workers and communities near the site”.
Cristian Zuniga, mayor of the town of Tierra Amarilla of about 13,000 inhabitants, told reporters that the sinkhole was unprecedented.
“We ask that the cause be clarified: if the collapse is a product of mining activity or something else,” he said.
Chile is the largest producer of copper in the world, responsible for a quarter of the world supply.
Giant sinkholes 39 photos