Only four days ago, a hole of unknown origin was discovered in the Atacama Desert in a mining area in Chile. And it continues to grow. It is already 200 meters deep and 50 meters wide. According to Reuters, water can be seen at the bottom.
If we look for references of what the hole looks like right now, the Seattle Space Needle would fit comfortably in the hole, as would six statues of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil stacked head to head, with giant arms outstretched. Even France’s Arc de Triomphe.
MINING ACTIVITY IS SUSPENDED
The National Geology and Mining Service said Saturday night that it is still investigating the massive hole near the Alcaparrosa mine, which is operated by Canada’s Lundin Mining, about 665 km (413 miles) north of Santiago, Chile.
The company’s shares have suffered minimally, from Canadian dollars to 6.85 at Friday’s market close. We must wait for the market to open this afternoon to see the reaction to the temporary halt in activity.
In fact, on August 1, the Canadian miner said, “following the detection of the sinkhole, the area was immediately isolated, and the relevant regulatory authorities were notified. There has been no impact to personnel, equipment or infrastructure.”
“The surface sinkhole has remained stable since detection. Minera Ojos del Salado is conducting technical analysis and gathering information to determine the event’s cause. The Alcaparrosa mine, part of Minera Ojos del Salado’s operations, is continuously monitored, and no movement related to the surface sinkhole has been detected,” was their last statement as now everything has changed.
Lundin owns 80% of the mining property, and the remaining 20% is in the hands of the Japanese company Sumitomo Corporation (the shares of the Japanese company have risen 1.20% in the last five days).
With information from AS