Codelco Confirms Two Deaths in El Teniente Avalanche
Codelco says two subcontractor workers died in the snow avalanche. Open-pit operations were already halted by bad weather.
by Dominic Rhee2 min read
Codelco confirmed two subcontractor workers had died after an October 11 snow avalanche in the open-pit sector of its El Teniente division, according to its official statement dated October 11. Emergency teams found the workers who had remained missing. Its October 11 announcement at 23:36 UTC updates the rescue effort we reported in Codelco Works to Rescue Two at El Teniente.
The statement also gives us an operating fact absent from the earlier account: open-pit operations were already stopped because of bad weather, while the workers were carrying out inspections in that sector. For you if you own copper miners, the disclosed stoppage therefore predates the avalanche. Codelco gives no restart date, identifies no additional operating area being suspended and provides no estimate of lost output. We have a weather-related interruption in the open pit, with its production effect still unquantified.
Codelco says investigative police and public prosecutor personnel were at the site to conduct inquiries into the accident's circumstances. The statement gives no finding about responsibility and says the company's immediate priority is responding to the emergency. Safety oversight had already been the subject of its September 24 announcement, which said the corporate safety and occupational health office would report directly to the executive president during October. That September 24 announcement preceded Sunday's avalanche; any subsequent safety measures need their own disclosure.
El Teniente's production was under pressure before this incident. In first-half results released August 28, Codelco reported that the division's copper output fell 27% from the first half of 2025 because of restrictions following the July 2025 accident. That comparison measures an earlier period, so we cannot add Sunday's interruption to it or use it to estimate the new event's cost. The next operating report needs to identify whether the affected surface work changes the division's production plan.
Does this change the supply case for the copper miners you own? A disclosed return to safe operations would reduce the risk of a prolonged interruption, while additional restrictions affecting production could reduce the copper Codelco can deliver. Today's statement gives us neither the duration nor the tonnes needed to assess those possibilities. We need the affected areas, the conditions for resuming work and any revision to planned output before assigning a supply effect. The statement also omits the stoppage's start date, so we cannot establish how long operations had already been idle.
By October 12, we will look for Codelco's next safety and operating update, including any restart conditions or change to El Teniente's production plan.
Seek the truth and be prepared,
Equedia News
Sources
- Codelco, Official statement confirming two subcontractor deaths at El Teniente, October 11, 2026
- Codelco, El Teniente announcement, October 11, 2026, 23:36 UTC
- Codelco, Safety organization changes, September 24, 2026
- Codelco, First-half 2026 results, August 28, 2026
- Equedia News, Codelco Works to Rescue Two at El Teniente, October 11, 2026
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