Last Sunday (31), the National Service of Geology and Mines of Chile, Sernageomin recognized the appearance of a crater about 25 meters in diameter and 200 meters deep, near the Alcaparrosa mine, in the municipality of Tierra Amarilla, northern Chile. In a statement, Sernageomin director David Montenegro said the agency had dispatched experts to the site and that no material had been detected, areas ranging from the property entrance to the construction site. of the Alcaparrosa mine were closed.

The hole is in an area where a copper mine is operated by the Canadian mining company Lundin Mining LUN.TO, the Canadian company owns 80% of the property and the rest is owned by the Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corporation. .

The Tierra Amarilla commune has been on alert since the appearance of the crater, the region is in the Atacama desert and is about 600 meters from the hole, technicians from the Secretariat of the Ministerial Region – Seremi, monitor the place and confirmed that there was no damage to the community.

Buraco is located in a mining area in Tierra Amarilla, Atacama. Photo reproduction: Power 360.

The mayor of Tierra Amarilla, Cristóbal Zúñiga, said in an interview with the local press, published on his Facebook page, that the appearance of the crater would be the result of extractive actions carried out inappropriately in the area: “We are concerned because it is a fear that we have always had as a community, that we are surrounded by mineral deposits and underground workings under our community. We will go to extreme lengths as a municipality to protect our community and put an end once and for all to these abuses and the excessive contamination of these mining companies” – said Cristobal.

The crater point is about 665 km north of the Chilean capital Santiago, so far the cause of the phenomenon is uncertain and unknown, the Atacama Desert is the highest desert in the world, with 1,000 km long s extending from northern Chile to the border with Peru.

Feature photo: A 200-meter-deep crater appears in northern Chile. Reproduction: Young Pan.