Antofagasta suspends ops at Los Pelambres for 120 days

South American copper miner Antofagasta said it had suspended its Los Pelambres Expansion project in Chile for about 120 days due to the coronavirus crisis.

Antofagasta on Monday also said it had suspended contracts with most of the companies involved in the project.The suspension should “in most cases” not lead to termination of the contracts, the company said in a statement.

"We want to maintain a contractual relationship with most of the contractor companies with which we are working today, but we must accept that, given the current conditions, many cannot do the work for which they are contracted," said Antofagasta projects vice-president Francisco Walther.

Terms with contractors would be agreed in the coming days, Antofagasta said, adding that it would try to maintain each workers' minimum monthly income equal to CLP 500,000 (£469) and avoiding job cuts.