Desert Deluge Shuts Copper Mines as Towns Engulfed in Chile

Torrential rain in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile forced the shutdown of some of the world’s largest copper mines as roads were cut and towns flooded. The army was placed in charge of public order in the region.

Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, shut all of its Atacama mines including Chuquicamata and Radomiro Tomic as the rains caused dangerous conditions for the giant trucks the mines depend on, the state-owned company said in a response to questions. The company kept some of its processing plants operating using stockpiled material and said in a separate statement that mines were gradually resuming operations.