Johannesburg - Hotel and gaming company Sun International [JSE:SUI] as well as resources giant Anglo American had to shut down their Chilean operations, following the massive earthquake that hit the South American country on Saturday.
Sun International confirmed on Monday that its Monticello properties in Santiago had been damaged and that it was forced to evacuate over 3 500 guests on Saturday morning after the quake hit.
"Miraculously, given the strength of the quake and aftershocks, only five people were injured, one seriously," said CEO David Coutts-Trotter. He said the evacuation lasted "less than eight minutes".
Monticello is about 60km south of Santiago, the capital of Chile. The earthquake measured 8.8 on the Richter scale and also triggered a tsunami which killed over 700 people.
Sun International said there has been significant damage to the new casino and retail complex, including the convention centre and administration areas. "As an indication of the severity of the quake, a two-ton safe moved over a metre during the tremor," said Coutts-Trotter.
"The complex will remain closed for the foreseeable future while the damage is better assessed, the building cleared up and essential remedial works are completed."
Although it was still too early to quantify the damage, Monticello has earthquake insurance for both damage to property and the cost of business interruption. It was expecting deductibles of $8m in terms of the policy. The resort opened for business in 2008, generating a R394m revenue (10% of group revenue) in the six months to December.
Anglo American confirmed that production has been stopped at its mines in Chile.
Its Chilean operations include the Los Bronces and El Soldado mines, which produce a combined 280 000 tons of copper a year.
"Production was halted at the operations due to power failures when the earthquake occurred. Impact on production has not been quantified," confirmed Anglo American spokesperson Pranill Ramchander.
Chile is the world's largest producer of copper and the disruption of mining operations is expected to push copper prices higher this week.
- Fin24.com & I-Net Bridge