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Worker killed in mudslide at Peru's Antamina mine |
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| CANADA: November 18, 2002 | ||
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TORONTO - A worker was killed during a mudslide in the open pit of the giant Antamina copper-zinc mine in Peru, Noranda Inc. said last week, but production of concentrates was not affected.
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The Canadian base metals and mining company, which has a 33.75 percent stake in the mine, said operations were re-established within 24 hours of the incident on Nov. 6. The mine, in Peru's central Andes at an altitude of 4,800 metres (16,000 feet), is expected to produce 330,000 tonnes of copper concentrate and 380,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate in 2002. In Peru, the mine's operators said Santos Leonardo Tantarico, 46, was killed while operating a bulldozer in the area of the mudslide. Two other workers were slightly injured. The incident happened while the workers were removing waste material and sediment from the bottom of a small lake which had been drained before production began in October last year. Carlos Oviedo, Antamina's spokesman, said the mine was interrupted for one shift. "This affects output for the week but it will not be reflected in monthly production ... or yearly production," Oviedo told Reuters. Noranda said salvage operations were under way to recover several pieces of heavy mining equipment. It is estimated the mudflow was about 240,000 cubic metres (8.5 million cubic feet) in volume, and was contained within the pit by rock berms. Antamina is also 33.75 percent-operated by BHP Billiton , 22.5 percent by Teck-Cominco Ltd , and 10 percent by Mitsubishi Corp. .
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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