List of mining accidents in Chile

This is an incomplete list of mining accidents in Chile that are known to have resulted in the entrapment or death of persons. Illegal mining is greatly overrepresented relative to legal mining in deadly accidents in Chile. ^[1]

20th century

• June 19, 1945: 1945 El Teniente mining accident, in O'Higgins Region. 355 men died in the underground copper mine of El Teniente, largely because of a nearby fire whose smoke trapped the workers in tunnels and resulted in carbon monoxide poisoning. Another 747 men were injured by the smoke. ^[2]
• February 19, 1964: 1964 Andacollo mining accident, in Coquimbo Region. Seven pirquineros were trapped as result of a cave-in at a gallery of an improvised small-scale gold mine, located in the vicinity of the town of Andacollo. ^[3]
• March 28, 1965: El Cobre dam failure in Valparaíso Region. As result of the 1965 La Ligua earthquake about 60 to 70 farmhouses and cottages were swept away by the cascading debris flow that emerged from the rupture of one of El Soldado mine's tailings dam. The official death toll is 247, but is thought to be as high as 350–400. ^{[4] [5]}

21st century

List of mining accidents in Chile involving deaths or entrapment since 2000

Date	Deaths (trapped)	Mine/mining district	Cause of death	Illegal mining	Commune	Reference
January 20, 2006	2 (70)	San José	Rockfall	No	Copiapó	[6] [7]
August 5, 2010	0 (33)	San José		No	Copiapó
January 10, 2011	2	El Indio mine/El Indio Gold Belt	Rockfall	Yes	Vicuña	[8]
September 4, 2020	1	Cavilolen	Rockfall	Yes	Illapel	[9]
September 19, 2020	2	Tambo de Oro	Rockfall	No	Punitaqui	[10]
June 24, 2021	2	Panulcillo	Rainfall-induced collapse	No	Ovalle	[11] [12]
December 18, 2024	2	La Fe	Carbon monoxide poisoning	Yes	Hijuelas	[13] [14]
February 28, 2025	3	Jesús María mine	Rockfall	Yes	Copiapó	[15]
July 31, 2025	6	El Teniente	Rockburst-induced collapse	No	Machalí	[16]

References

1. "Sernageomin hace enérgico llamado a no ejercer actividades mineras sin respectivos permisos". Sernageomin.cl (in Spanish). 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
2. Emol, June 20, 2005, "La Tragedia del Humo": A 60 años del peor accidente minero en Chile Archived 2018-12-07 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
3. 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.
4. "Earthquake Toll Heavy in Chile; Village Buried". The Desert Sun . Vol. 38, no. 202. 29 March 1965. Retrieved 5 Dec 2020.
5. "Chronology of Major Tailings Dam Failures (From 1960)". WISE Uranium Project. 20 Nov 2020. Retrieved 6 Dec 2020.
6. "Accidente en mina de Atacama deja a cerca de 70 trabajadores atrapados - Cooperativa.cl" (in Spanish). Radio Cooperativa. 20 January 2006. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
7. "Explosión en mina en Chile deja dos muertos". EsMas.com (in Spanish). 20 January 2006. Archived from the original on 2010-10-21. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
8. "Dos muertos deja derrumbe en pique minero clausurado". Minería Chilena (in Spanish). 2011-01-11. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
9. "Fatal accidente minero se registró en Illapel". Reporte Minero & Energético (in Spanish). 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
10. "Accidente dejó 2 víctimas fatales en Tambo de Oro". Revista Minera Crisol (in Spanish). 2020-09-19. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
11. Guerra, Ignacio (2021-07-25). "Confirman hallazgo de cuerpo de un minero que estaba desaparecido hace un mes en Panulcillo". Emol (in Spanish).
12. "Tras dos semanas del hundimiento en Panulcillo se estudian formas de rescate del minero desaparecido"". El Ovallino (in Spanish). 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
13. Gómez S., Rodrigo (2024-12-18). "Qué se sabe del accidente químico en mina ilegal que dejó tres muertos en Hijuelas". La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-03-04.
14. Minera irregular en Hijuelas se denunció un mes antes de la muerte por intoxicación de dos trabajadores en faena La Fe
15. Guzmán, José Tomás (2025-03-04). "Minería ilegal en Chile: Las cifras detrás del tipo de extracción que terminó en un derrumbe fatal en Copiapó". Emol (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-03-05.
16. Quiénes eran los seis mineros fallecidos en El Teniente que Chile llora