A strong earthquake hit northern Chile on Wednesday, frightening residents, but no damage was reported at a large copper mine in the area. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the 5.8-magnitude earthquake hit 100 kilometers east of Iquique in northern Chile, near the country's large copper-mining areas. Chile is the world's biggest producer of the metal. The Collahuasi copper mine, owned by Xstrata Copper and Anglo American, was not affected by the earthquake. “The mine was not affected at all,” mine union leader Hernan Farias said. “Operations are running normally.” “Things are calm now after an earthquake which was felt intensely by the local population,” Iquique provincial governor Miriam Escobar said. “There are some reports of landslides in the region, but no damage has been reported.” The USGS earlier measured the earthquake's magnitude at 6.1, but later revised it downward.
