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Santiago (AFP) – The Chilean government expressed concern about the appearance of cracks near the huge sinkhole of more than 30 meters in diameter and 64 meters deep that appeared two weeks ago near a copper mine in the Atacama desert.
The National Service of Geology and Mining (Sernageomin) “detected these cracks and has been monitoring them with a radar system, drones and extensometers, instruments that so far have not shown that these cracks have increased in size,” explained in a statement the Mining Minister, Marcela Hernando.
The cracks are found in three sectors near the sinkhole that appeared unexpectedly on the land of the copper mine owned by the Canadian Lundin Mining.
The fact caused surprise in the country and concern in the Government since the mining operations would be related to the enormous hole.
Government confirms that there was overexploitation in the mining project
An investigation by Sernageomin indicated that the mine had permission to exploit 400,000 tons in the sector where the sinkhole appeared and according to the data obtained, it was detected that 300,000 tons have been extracted and at least another 300,000 tons remain within the deposit.
“Which clearly means that there is an overexploitation that would be related to the sinking and that in turn could have affected the existing aquifer in the place,” said the Chilean minister.
According to Hernando, the mining company reported that in the sector where the cracks are “there would be no excavation or mining activity, unlike the sinkhole that is related to mining.”
The sinkhole is located at least 600 meters from the houses of the mining population of Tierra Amarilla, and it is feared that new holes may be produced.
“A study of the soil in the town is necessary to find out what is producing these sinkholes, both the first one and these cracks,” said Cristóbal Zúñiga, mayor of Tierra Amarilla, where some 13,000 people live.
A commission made up of authorities is investigating the causes of the incident and possible sanctions.
Chile is the world’s largest copper exporter with almost a third of global supply.
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