SANTIAGO – A magnitude 6.2 earthquake jolted northern Chile on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but there were no reports of any damage and the linchpin copper mining sector was not affected. The quake struck about 67 miles (108 km) northeast of Arica, Chile, at a depth of 55 miles (88 km), it said. It originally reported the quake was magnitude 6.3. “There are no reports of any injuries or damage to infrastructure,” a spokesman for state emergency office ONEMI told Reuters.
State copper giant Codelco, the world’s top producer, said it had not received any reports of damage to installations. And the world’s No. 3 copper mine, Chile’s Collahuasi, owned jointly by global miners Xstrata and Anglo American, said it was unaffected and was producing normally. Quake-prone Chile’s economy is still recovering from a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake a year ago, which hammered towns, infrastructure and industries in south-central Chile and killed more than 500 people.
