Authorities in Chile conduct raids on the residences of former Codelco executives as part of the El Teniente investigation

Chilean authorities on Thursday conducted raids at the residences of two recently ousted executives from state copper miner Codelco, as part of their ongoing investigation into a fatal collapse that occurred at the El Teniente mine last year.

During the searches, officials confiscated digital equipment belonging to ex-Chief Operations Officer Mauricio Barraza and former mine manager Claudio Sougarret, according to a statement from Chile’s prosecutor’s office.

The facilities of Codelco were searched, and the company voluntarily handed over some equipment. Codelco chose not to provide a comment.

Authorities stated that items belonging to Rodrigo Andrades, the former El Teniente projects manager, were seized in October.

Last week, three executives were dismissed from their positions following an internal audit that uncovered inconsistencies related to a rock explosion at El Teniente in 2023, as well as discrepancies in Codelco’s subsequent reports to the mining regulator Sernageomin.

Sernageomin announced earlier this week that it would submit formal complaints to the authorities.

In the previous year, the same mine experienced a collapse that resulted in the deaths of six individuals.