Codelco Collapse Likely Caused by Mining Rather Than Nature

The seismic event that caused a fatal collapse at Codelco’s biggest mine in Chile is likely to have been caused by mining activity rather than nature, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

The probable scenario being used inside Codelco is that the incident was caused by geological stresses resulting from the project’s own extraction processes rather than any naturally occurring shifting of tectonic plates, the person said, asking not to be identified given an investigation is ongoing.