Invierno mine (Mina Invierno: lit. ''Winter Mine'') is a coal mine in

Riesco Island Riesco Island () lies at west of the Brunswick Peninsula, Chile. It is one of the largest islands in Chile, with an area of . Its highest point is Mount Atalaya at . The island is bordered by two large piedmont embayments: Otway Sound and Skyring ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, that was active from 2013 to 2020. The mine exported coal extracted from Loreto Formation to northern Chile and to other countries. The enterprise in charge of the project declared initially the works would occupy an area of 1500 ha representing 0.3% of the area of Riesco Island. Reportedly, it was initially projected to be the first of five coal mines in Riesco Island to be established by Von Appen and

Angelini Angelini is a medium-sized private international group. Founded in Italy in the early twentieth century, the Angelini group has offices in 25 countries. Led by President Francesco Angelini, the industrial group employs approximately 3000 people. ...

. The development of the mine included both the clearing of

Magellanic subpolar forests The Magellanic subpolar forests () are a terrestrial ecoregion of southernmost South America, covering parts of southern Chile and Argentina, and are part of the Neotropical realm. It is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion, and ...

and the

reforestation Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting. Management A debat ...

of areas burned down during the Chilean settlement of Magallanes more than 100 years ago. In 2016 it was recognized by Mining.com as the southernmost mine on the planet. By area, Invierno is the largest mine to have ever existed in Chile. In 2019 the Third Environmental Court of Valdivia withdrew permission to mine by blasting in Invierno mine, effectively causing the mine to initiate a

mine closure Mine closure is the period of time when the ore-extracting activities of a mine have ceased, and final decommissioning and mine reclamation are being completed. It is generally associated with reduced employment levels, which can have a significan ...

process that ended all mining in 2020. The closing of the mine and the

COVID-19 pandemic in Chile The worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 () severely affected Chile. The virus was confirmed to have reached Chile on 3 March 2020. Initial cases had been imported from So ...

are credited for the economic downturn

Magallanes Region The Magallanes Region (), officially the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region ( es, Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena), is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It is the southernmost, largest, and second lea ...

experienced in the early 2020s. Before closure, the mine had about 1,000 employees.

References

2013 establishments in Chile 2020 disestablishments in Chile Coal mines in Chile Mines in Magallanes Region Surface mines in Chile Former mines in Chile {{Mine-stub

See also

References