Codelco, a Chilean state-owned copper mining company, has recently started the new project of Chuquicamata Underground.

According to Codelco, the Chuquicamata mine has been mined as long as 104 years, and currently still has 1.03 million tons of copper deposits, which could reach 320,000 tons per year until 2026.

As the estimated personal production in underground mines was higher than the current open-pit mine, the company would completely switch to underground mining operations in 2020.

Codelco was still confident that it would maintain the production at around 1.7 million in the next 10 years.

The Chuquicamata mining area was hit by labor problems at the beginning of this year and just fully resume production in May.