Professor Alfredo Enrione publishes a study on the death of six workers at Codelco's El Teniente mine last year, blaming severe corporate governance defects. In a column, he compares it to the La Polar scandal 15 years ago, where bonuses ignored key risks.
Professor Alfredo Enrione from ESE Business School at Universidad de los Andes titled his paper “El Encubrimiento Racional. Arquitectura de Gobernanza y Desastre Predecible en la mina de El Teniente de Codelco”. It examines the tragedy of six workers killed last year in a collapse, noting prior Sernageomin reports were ignored and adjusted to allow operations to continue. Those who modified the reports received promotions and hefty bonuses, while Codelco's board lacked an independent committee to oversee collapse risks, blindly trusting executives. Sernageomin did not escalate warnings higher. Enrione stresses that human-loss collapses have been predictable mining risks since the start, referencing Baldomero Lillo's story “El Grisú”. He draws parallels to La Polar, where 15 years ago the board overlooked disproportionate accounts receivable and awarded bonuses on fraudulently inflated profits, harming shareholders and creditors. There too, no experts in low-income credit sales existed. La Polar, a private firm, survived; El Teniente, with over 4,000 km of tunnels deeper than 1,500 meters, faces greater perils if worker safety is undervalued. Economist César Barros summarizes these cases in an opinion column in La Tercera, underscoring production prioritized over risks.
