Chilean copper miner Codelco said on Wednesday it would reduce its operations to comply with a state of catastrophe announced by the government in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The miner, the world’s biggest of the precious red metal, said it would maintain "operational continuity" for a period of 15 days from March 19.
Codelco in a statement acknowledged the risk of the "economic impact" for workers, contractors, the state-owned company and the country. Copper mining has accounted for an average of 10% of Chile’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the last two decades.
But it said that the state of catastrophe announced by government imposed strict limits on movement and left it with no choice but to curtail its operations.