Giant sinkhole with ‘a lot of water’ suddenly opens up near copper mine in Chile

Shweta Sharma
·2 min read
A sinkhole is exposed at a mining zone close to Tierra Amarilla town, in Copiapo, Chile (REUTERS)
A sinkhole is exposed at a mining zone close to Tierra Amarilla town, in Copiapo, Chile (REUTERS)

A massive 656ft-deep sinkhole with an 82ft (25m) diameter has suddenly opened up near an underground copper mine in Chile over the weekend.

Specialist teams of geologists from Chile’s National Service of Geology and Mining, Sernageomin, were rushed to the Alcaparrosa site which is operated by Canada’s Lundin Mining Corp and is located about 665km north of capital Santiago.

Sharing aerial photos of the huge sinkhole, Sernageomin said on Twitter that they issued an order to immediately stop work in the area to evaluate the situation.

In a statement on Monday, Lundin Mining said the sinkhole, which appears to be filled with “a lot of water”, did not affect any workers or community members and has remained stable since its detection.

It added that development work in an area of the Alcaparrosa underground mine has been temporarily stopped as a preventive measure and is being monitored continuously.

“The closest home is more than 600m (1,969ft) away from the sinkhole while any populated area or public service are almost a kilometre away from the affected zone,” the company said.

No material has been found at the sinkhole close to the Tierra Amarilla town in Copiapo, Chile, but it has ‘the presence of a lot of water’ (REUTERS)
No material has been found at the sinkhole close to the Tierra Amarilla town in Copiapo, Chile, but it has ‘the presence of a lot of water’ (REUTERS)

David Montenegro, Sernageomin’s director, said they have not detected any material inside the sinkhole, but said it has large quantities of water.

“There is a considerable distance, approximately 200 metres (656ft), to the bottom,” Mr Montenegro said. “We haven’t detected any material down there, but we have seen the presence of a lot of water.”

Aeriel view of the sinkhole exposed at mining zone close to Tierra Amarilla town in Copiapo, Chile (REUTERS)
Aeriel view of the sinkhole exposed at mining zone close to Tierra Amarilla town in Copiapo, Chile (REUTERS)

Lundin Mining controls 80 per cent of the property while the rest is held by Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation.

News of the sinkhole comes days after an incident in which a woman in New Zealand suffered severe injuries after she fell into a geothermal sinkhole at a popular tourist spot.

The woman, an Australian, was swallowed by the two-metre wide hole which burst open suddenly on a footpath in central North Island.

In May, a massive sinkhole discovered in China was found to be home to a forest with trees reportedly as tall as 131ft.