Copper giant Codelco slows operations as Chile tackles COVID-19

Chile's Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, is to slow operations at its mines as the South American country takes drastic measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The corporation will reduce its activity levels in order to reduce to a minimum staffing by direct employees and contractors to maintain operational continuity and the safety of workers and installations," the state-owned company said.

The measure will remain in place for the next 15 days.

Codelco, which produced 1.7 million mt of copper in 2019, said it would reach agreements with its contractor companies to ensure workers are paid during the next two weeks and to ensure normal operations can re-established as quickly as possible.

Earlier Wednesday, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera declared a 90-day state of catastrophe allowing the government to restrict movement of people. Authorities have so far declared 238 cases of the coronavirus disease, the second highest figure in South America behind Brazil.

The country has already closed its borders to foreigners and shut down schools and universities. Shopping malls and other spaces where people gather are set to close in the coming days.

The move is likely to cause difficulties for the country's giant mining industry that produced 28% of the world's copper output last year.

Further, Canadian miner Teck Resources announced on Wednesday that it was suspending construction of its Quebrada Blanca 2 mine expansion for two weeks to safeguard the project's 15,000 workers.

Strict government measures in neighboring Peru to halt the spread of the pandemic has forced several of the country's largest mines to shut down completely, including Newmont's Yanacocha, Freeport McMoRan's Cerro Verde, and the Antamina copper-zinc operation.