Chilean copper mine Dona Ines de Collahuasi on Monday declared a force majeure suspension on its copper concentrate sales contracts following an accident that killed three at its Patache port, the company said.

The force majeure, a contract suspension that companies use in circumstances beyond their control, comes on the heels of a 33-day labor strike that ended earlier this month but during which the company met all its sales contracts.

"Collahuasi has declared force majeure over its copper concentrate sales contracts until further notice, as a result of the incident that happened on Dec. 18, 2010, when the shiploader suffered an unexpected structural failure causing the death of three maintenance workers, which Collahuasi deeply regrets, and severe damage to key elements of the loading facilities," company spokeswoman Bernardita Fernandez said in a brief statement.

Collahuasi is evaluating the extent of the damage and how long it will take to repair the shiploader.

"The causes of the structural failure are under investigation," she said.

The three maintenance workers--Manuel Espinoza, Sergio Gatica and Rodrigo Espinoza--worked for mining services provider FLSmidth, one of the many contracting companies employed by Collahuasi.

The sole union at the mining company, which represents the 1,551 workers that went on strike in November, also lamented the deaths and noted that another worker, Jose Faundez, was injured in the accident.

Collahuasi is controlled by diversified mining companies Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) and Anglo American PLC (AAUKY, AAL.LN), each holding a 44% stake in the mine. A consortium led by Mitsui & Co. (MITSY, 8031.TO) holds the remaining 12%.

With an annual output of around 550,000 metric tons of copper, it's one of the world's largest copper mines. It is 185 kilometers southeast of the port of Iquique, high in the Andes Mountains at 4,400 meters above sea level.

-By Carolina Pica, Dow Jones Newswires; 56-2-715-8919; carolina.pica@dowjones.com
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