Sernageomin, Chile’s mining regulator, and Codelco, state copper producer, have set stricter conditions for bringing shuttered zones of the El Teniente mine back online after a July 31 collapse that killed six workers. The regulator now requires a mine-wide follow-up and monitoring plan to assure stability and safety across underground deposits that remain closed. Codelco—having initially halted all operations at its most profitable asset—has reopened eight of 12 sectors while work continues to restore others.
Regulator’s requirements and restart path
Under the document issued by Sernageomin, Codelco must implement comprehensive monitoring and control of underground operations before any further restart approvals. The company had already been asked to submit root-cause analyses, control-measure reports, repair and recovery plans, and a technical review of fortification systems with improvement proposals. Authorities have cleared progress in some areas, but the new framework formalizes a mine-wide safety regime before additional units resume production.
Status of key sectors and production outlook
Codelco says it is gradually reopening Andes Norte and Diamante following approvals by Sernageomin and the labor inspectorate. The Recursos Norte and Andesita units remain shut; the latter was the area most affected by the collapse. Management has already lowered 2025 copper guidance to reflect the disruption at El Teniente, with executives indicating an output loss of about 33,000 metric tons at the operation. Company-wide guidance has been trimmed to roughly 1.34–1.37 million tons for 2025, from 1.37–1.40 million tons earlier this year.
Market impact and pricing
Copper prices firmed in early August as traders weighed Chilean supply risk alongside evolving U.S. tariff policy, with the LME three-month contract trading near the high-$9,600s per tonne at points during the month. The tariff-driven arbitrage that had sent U.S. prices far above LME levels has since unwound, but nearby LME spreads and inventories have remained sensitive to headlines about Chilean operations and restart timelines.
Company Background and Market Context
Codelco is the world’s largest copper producer, operating an extensive portfolio of Chilean mines. El Teniente, in the Andes south of Santiago, is a vast block-cave complex with thousands of kilometers of tunnels and a central role in the company’s cash generation. In the weeks after the accident, Codelco replaced El Teniente’s mine manager and began a staged reopening of unaffected zones under tighter oversight. The regulator’s new requirements add mine-wide monitoring to the suite of safety deliverables already in place.
Copper is a backbone material for electrification—power grids, EVs, and data centers—and price direction this quarter has reflected a tug-of-war between macro signals and supply headlines. LME prices hovered around $9,600–$9,700 per tonne in mid-August as the market balanced Chilean disruptions, shifting U.S. tariff policy and inventory moves. Near-term, clarity on El Teniente’s restart cadence will help define how much of the Chile risk premium persists.
