In northern Chile, a gigantic hole suddenly yawns in the ground: It has a diameter of around 25 meters. How it came about has yet to be clarified. However, part of a copper mine runs deep underground.
A huge hole suddenly opened up in a mining area in northern Chile. The hole, about 25 meters in diameter, appeared on the territory of the Alcaparrosa mine in the Atacama region last Saturday, the National Agency for Geology and Mining (Sernageomin) reported in a tweet. Photographs showed the circular cavity that opens up in the dry landscape and extends to unforeseeable depths.
According to a Sernageomin graphic, the hole is 200 meters above part of the copper mine. Canadian operator Lundin Mining confirmed the hole. The affected area was cordoned off immediately and work there was temporarily stopped. The hole has been “stable” since its discovery, and the company said no movements in the ground have been detected in connection with it since then. Attempts are currently being made to find out what led to the formation of the hole.
The mayor of the affected municipality of Tierra Amarilla, Cristóbal Zúñiga, expressed concern as the excavation occurred near a residential area and a local health center. A hole of this magnitude has never been seen in his community, Zúñiga said in a video published on his Facebook channel.
It must be examined to what extent the hole is related to the mining work and whether mining could become a danger to the area and its residents. “We are requesting responses from Sernageomin and the competent authority to investigate why this happened and assess the risks of whether this could happen in another populated area of ??our Tierra Amarilla municipality,” Zúñiga told ADN radio.
