Codelco to restart projects suspended because of coronavirus

Chile’s State-run miner Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, said on Thursday it would restart operations and projects it had suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, beginning next week.

The miner had been forced to delay several mine expansion projects as cases of the virus spread through its operations, though it has largely maintained output during the pandemic.

The company said in a statement workers would soon return to the new underground portion of its sprawling Chuquicamata mine, and that the operation’s smelter and refinery, shut down amid the worst of the outbreak, would soon reboot.