Chile's Collahuasi Port Operations Could Resume In May -Report

The Patache port at Chilean copper mine Dona Ines de Collahuasi could resume operations in May, Valor Futuro newswire reported Friday citing an executive at Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN, AAUK), one of the mine's controllers.

Collahuasi declared a force majeure suspension on its copper concentrate sales contracts on Dec. 20 following a fatal accident that shut down the Patache port. A force majeure clause in a contract allows a company to suspend its commitments due to an event beyond the company's control.

Since the port closure, Collahuasi has been shipping copper out of three northern Chile ports, but hasn't lifted the force majeure.

"Collahuasi is bringing its concentrate management back to normal, reducing stocks and we hope that Patache operations will be back to normal in May," the newswire quoted Miguel Angel Duran, president of Anglo American Chile, saying.

A Collahuasi spokeswoman said she couldn't immediately confirm the May operations date for the port.

Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) and Anglo each hold a 44% stake in the mine, while a consortium led by Mitsui & Co. (MITSY, 8031.TO) holds the remaining 12%.

With an annual output of around 550,000 tons of copper, the mine is one of the world's largest. It is located 185 kilometers southeast of the port of Iquique, high in the Andes Mountains at 4,400 meters above sea level.

-By Carolina Pica, Dow Jones Newswires; 56-2-715-8919; [e-mail]