Heavy snowfalls and rains have caused widespread problems for mines in northern Chile. Hardest hit was the Refugio gold mine, owned by Bema Gold (BGO-X) and Amax Gold (AU-N).
Several metres of snowfall forced the Refugio to close for several weeks.
The mine is situated at an elevation above 14,000 ft.
High winds hampered efforts to rescue workers stranded at the mine, though all have since been safely evacuated.
In the meantime, the processing plant has remained in operation.
The operation is still trying to dig itself out. Crews have been dispatched to clear the road to the mine, but so far progress is slow. The mine is expected to be up and running by the first week in July, weather permitting.
Bad weather has affected several other operations in the region. Heavy snowfall resulted in work stoppages at the Los Bronces and El Soldado copper mines (owned in part by a subsidiary of Exxon). Flooding and heavy rains have also posed problems there.
Meanwhile, a wind storm caused a blackout at Codelco’s Andina copper mine, and delays were also reported at Codelco’s Salvador copper mine and at Phelps Dodge’s (PD-N) Candelaria copper mine. At the Andacollo gold mine of Dayton Mining (DAY-T), heavy rains have limited access to the main pit.
Weather forecasters predict the summer will see the onset of a meteorological phenomenon known as El Nino.
“The central and eastern equatorial Pacific became warmer and the trade winds across most of the tropical Pacific are much weaker than normal,” according to a report from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
The Nino weather pattern could lead to higher precipitation in the Western Hemisphere, while causing droughts in Australia and Southeast Asia.
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