Chile Power Outage Disrupts Major Copper Mines and Cities

A significant power outage in Chile disrupted mining operations, particularly affecting the copper industry, and left Santiago residents without electricity. Restoration efforts are underway, but the cause remains under investigation. The outage spanned the northern Arica and Parinacota region to the southern Los Lagos region.

A widespread power outage plunged Chile into darkness on Tuesday, affecting its major copper mining operations and leaving Santiago residents powerless. The head of Chile's National Electricity Coordinator (CEN), Ernesto Huber, confirmed that efforts are being made to restore power, but a full timeline remains unclear.

Significant regions, from the mining-heavy north to the populous central and southern parts, including Santiago, suffered from the outage. Major mining operations at Escondida, Chuquicamata, Andina, Salvador, and El Teniente mines were affected, though backup power allowed partial operations.

The nationwide blackout also brought routine life to a standstill, shutting down the Santiago metro and causing flight disruptions. The outage was attributed to a transmission line failure, and no emergency situations have been reported. Restoration is expected in the coming hours, according to Interior Minister Carolina Toha.

(With inputs from agencies.)