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Chile copper mines weather quake; some ports shut

* Massive, quake-proof copper mines dodge harm following 8.2

quake

* Some concerns closed ports could curb supply

* Copper prices rise to over three-week high

(Adds trader comment, details on mining, paragraphs 6-9, 13-14)

By Alexandra Ulmer and Fabian Cambero

SANTIAGO, April 2 (Reuters) - Copper operations in Chile,

the world's top producer, were unscathed by a major earthquake

that struck the mineral-rich north on Tuesday night and prompted

the evacuations of some workers.

But several ports that ship metals from the Andean country

remained closed on Wednesday following a tsunami evacuation,

suggesting some exports and trade flows may be disrupted.

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Copper prices rose to their highest in more than

three weeks on Wednesday on concerns that supplies could be

affected following the 8.2 magnitude quake. Chile supplies

one-third of the world's red metal.

None of the quake-proofed mines in the Andean country

reported structural damage following the earthquake, which

killed six and triggered the tsunami that pounded the shore.

"I think the impact this time around is close to zero," said

Juan Carlos Guajardo, the head of mining think tank CESCO.

"Ports (HKSE: 0589-OL.HK - news) are the most exposed, but they didn't suffer either

because the tsunami was very small."

Any major damage could have been catastrophic for Chile,

where copper accounts for over one-half of export revenue and

about 15 percent of gross domestic product. The country produced

5.8 million tonnes of the metal last year.

Still, one physical copper trader in Europe who says he

doesn't have any cargo warned of disruption to business over the

next several weeks.

The clean-up, checking safety of mines and port closures

will disrupt trade for weeks, he cautioned.

"It'll have more of an effect on ports and logistics (than

prices). There could be some logistical bottlenecks. I think

people have got a little ahead of themselves. We're talking

about a shallow tremor here," he said.

The massive Collahuasi mine, a partnership between Glencore

Xstrata Plc and Anglo American Plc (LSE: AAL.L - news) , located

relatively close to the epicenter, evacuated workers, but said

the deposit and port were intact and that mining operations

should return to normal on Wednesday.

Chilean state-run miner Codelco and global miner

BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL - news) said their mines and ports were

experiencing no problems with copper shipments.

SQM , which has extraction rights to some

of the world's biggest reserves of nitrates, iodine and lithium

in the north, said they had not suffered damage at their

operations, but a few facilities had power cut.

Power cuts following the quake may have dented copper

output, although most mines can quickly activate back-up

generators.

"Up until now, the fall in electricity generation in (the

Northern SING grid) averages around 350 megawatts," said Pedro

Fuenzalida, a mining and energy analyst with LarrainVial in

Santiago. "That leads us to estimate that to date roughly 1,000

tonnes in copper output have been lost."

ENAP, the state-owned oil company, said it had

halted operations and evacuated workers at its Aconcagua and Bio

Bio refineries but operations were returning to normal. Chile's

fuel supply was unaffected by the quake, the company

added.

The northern ports of Arica, Patache, Iquique, Mejillones

and Tocopilla were closed or only partially operating, according

to the Chilean army.

China is the world's top consumer of metals and many of the

ships on Chile's Pacific coast cross the ocean to Asia.

"Any delay, based on the premise that there indeed wasn't

major damage to ports, should be overcome within a few days,"

Fuenzalida, the analyst, added.

The CESCO/CRU copper conference that kicks off next week in

the capital, Santiago, where the quake was not felt, was set to

proceed as normal.

(Additional reporting by Josephine Mason in New York (Frankfurt: HX6.F - news) ; Editing

by Sofina Mirza-Reid, Jeffrey Benkoe and Tom Brown)