Chile power outage plunges capital into darkness, hits major copper mines

People stand outside buildings after a large power outage struck vast swaths of the country, in Santiago, Chile February 25, 2025. REUTERS/Pablo Sanhueza

SANTIAGO (Reuters) -A massive power outage across Chile plunged the country's capital Santiago into darkness on Tuesday and knocked out electricity to major copper mines in the country's north, buffeting global metal markets.

Hours after the outage began and as darkness fell, Chile's government announced a state of emergency and established a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (0100 to 0900 GMT) from the northern region of Arica to the southern region of Los Lagos.