On Wednesday, September 15, an earthquake, measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale, struck off the coast of Chile near La Serena, which is about halfway between Santiago and Antofagasta. Codelco and Antofagasta plc suspended operations at two mines in the region.
Codelco suspended operations at its Andina open-pit mine and evacuated workers from the Ventanas refining and smelting division. Antofagasta temporarily idled Los Pelambres mine. There were no reports of injury or damage to equipment, and operations were expected to restart soon.
