Production at Codelco's El Teniente mine to remain at lower level next 5 years, executive says

By Kylie Madry

SANTIAGO, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Output at Codelco's El Teniente mine, the site of a deadly accident last year that has hit production, will be depressed for about the next five years, mine head Claudio Sougarret said on Tuesday.

The mine expects to produce 301,000 metric tons of the red metal this year, he told Reuters on the sidelines of an event to present the results of a biodiversity study near the mine.

"We hope to be able to push that (production) up a bit," he said, though he cautioned that it would "likely be around there, and will be there for the next five years."

Codelco, the world's largest copper miner, had previously said that production would be hit for the next three years.

Last year, a collapse at the site killed several workers and a section of the mine has remained shuttered since.

"We hope that, based on the studies we've done, we're able to recover the minerals on the north side (of the mine)," Sougarret said.

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A preliminary investigation found that a powerful quake probably triggered the collapse at El Teniente, previously Codelco's most profitable mine.

The miner has yet to publish its final report on the incident. It had promised to do so by the end of last year.

Sougarret, as well as Codelco chair Maximo Pacheco, declined to say when the report would be made public.

To fully restart operations, Codelco must overhaul seismic monitoring at the site, among other steps.

Pacheco did not tell journalists what the renovations would cost, but that "Codelco was obligated to incorporate new and additional security measures as needed."

Reuters exclusively reported on Monday that Codelco planned to invest $3.9 billion this year, with copper prices at $4.90 a pound, below their current levels.

Pacheco told Reuters that Codelco should be "competitive even in different price scenarios."