Codelco suspended processing operations at its Andina division on Thursday after an obstruction was detected early in the morning in the tailings transport system near the Rapido RV4 sector of the Rio Blanco canyon. The company said an object may have fallen into the channel, causing a partial release of tailings that could have entered the Blanco River, and that it had shut down the concentrator plant, suspended tailings transport, activated its emergency protocols and notified the authorities.
The company said the situation was under control, with water diverted to the Piuquenitos reservoir and continuous river monitoring and water quality analysis under way. The water utility Esval closed its surface water intake from the Aconcagua River as a precaution and switched Los Andes drinking water production to underground sources, while lawmaker Francisca Bello called for an investigation into the cause and downstream effects. Codelco gave no spill volume and no date for restarting processing.