Workers at Escondida copper mine in Chile call for suspension unless management takes precautionary measures

San Diego News on March 18th, union workers at BHP Billiton’s Escondida copper mine, the world’s largest copper mine project, said on Wednesday that they had asked the relevant authorities to close the mine unless the management began to implement strict measures to prevent Transmission of the new crown virus.

In a statement, the union said that considering the small space in the mining area and employees traveling between different regions of Chile, they were susceptible to the new crown virus.

The union said in a statement: “If minimum standards of health and safety can’t be guaranteed … we will ask the government to take the necessary measures to suspend production.”

BHP Billiton has not been immediately reached for comment.

Chile is the world’s largest copper producer and the second-largest lithium producer in the world.

Safety measures have been taken at several mines in Chile since last week, as there have been confirmed cases of new crown pneumonia in the country.

Due to the spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, Chilean President Pinella announced on the 18th that Chile will enter a state of disaster emergency from 90 o’clock on the 19th for a period of 90 days.

In a televised speech on the same day, Pinella said that as of the 18th, the number of confirmed cases of new crown pneumonia in Chile had risen to 238. The purpose of declaring a disaster emergency was to prepare for the spread of the epidemic in advance, protect public health facilities, and ensure the delivery of medical supplies. Smooth implementation of isolation measures.

Teck Resources said on Wednesday that it would suspend construction of the Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 copper project to protect the health of employees and limit the spread of new crown pneumonia.