1964 Andacollo mining accident

1964 Andacollo mining accident

Date	19 February 1964 (1964-02-19)
Location	Pique Flore de Te & Pique G3, near Andacollo, Coquimbo Region, Chile
Coordinates	30°15′01″S71°05′38″W / 30.250181°S 71.093953°W / -30.250181; -71.093953
Outcome	All 7 trapped miners rescued
Andacollo Andacollo (Chile)

The 1964 Andacollo mining accident began on 19 February 1964, with a cave-in at a gallery of an improvised small-scale gold mine, located in the vicinity of the town of Andacollo, 39 kilometers southeast of the regional capital of La Serena, in north-central Chile. In the accident seven pirquineros were trapped a for days while ENAMI led an ultimately successful rescue. ^[1] Two miners were rescued on the third day of entrapment and the remaining five in the seventh day. ^[2] The event generated an intense news coverage via radio and the press in Chile. ^[1]

Later in 1975 ENAMI started to buy much of the property where small-scale mines existed around Andacollo and the large-scale Carmen de Andacollo copper-gold mine begun operations in 1994. ^{[3] [4]}

References

1. Danús 2007, p. 184.
2. "Recuerdan 50 años de rescate minero en Andacollo". Diario El Día (in Spanish). 2014-02-20. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
3. Danús 2007, p. 187.
4. "Teck Cominco successfully acquires Aur Resources". International Mining. 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2025-07-30.

Bibliography

• Danús, Hernán (2007). "V. La geología y las exploraciones mineras". Crónicas mineras de medio siglo (1950-2000) (in Spanish). Santiago de Chile: RIL Editores. ISBN   978-956-284-555-7.