Lundin's Chilean Copper Mine Paused Following Storm Damage

Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN,OTCPL:LUNMF) expects a two to three-week outage at its Caserones copper mine in northern Chile after a severe winter storm damaged two powerline towers onsite.

The Vancouver-based miner provided an update on Monday (July 27) that repair crews have mobilized to fix the damaged transmission infrastructure serving the site, located in the high-altitude Atacama Region.

Lundin plans a gradual restart of operations once crews finish repairing the towers and restore main power grid connectivity. In the interim, site personnel have deployed backup generators to maintain critical site infrastructure.

The company has also rotated on-site workers with fresh crews as maintenance teams progressively clear and reopen access roads blocked by snow and debris.

The storm system hit the Atacama Region with a combination of torrential rainfall at lower elevations and unusually heavy snowfall at higher altitudes, triggering regional flooding and logistical delays.

In addition to the Caserones power interruption, Lundin's nearby Candelaria copper complex also weathered the storm system with minimal disruption. Heavy rainfall briefly interrupted open-pit mining at Candelaria, but the processing mill continued running without pause by processing existing ore stockpiles. Mining operations at Candelaria have since returned to full capacity.

Lundin previously stated that weather disruptions are routinely factored into its annual operating plans for Caserones, and the company initially maintained its full-year production targets for the asset as the storm system weakened.

The operational pause comes months after Lundin furthered its financial commitment to the asset.

In April this year, the company paid US$215 million in cash to JX Advanced Metals Corporation (TSE:5016) and its affiliates to acquire an additional 5 percent equity interest in SCM Minera Lumina Copper Chile, the operating entity behind Caserones.

The transaction lifted Lundin's overall ownership in the copper-molybdenum mine from 70 percent to 75 percent, adding an estimated 6,500 to 7,000 tons of annual attributable copper production.

That same April deal also handed Lundin a 30.9 percent stake in the neighboring Los Helados copper-gold project along with a 0.62 percent net smelter return royalty.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.