Reuters dominates impact of Chile earthquake on commodities

Reuters was ahead at every twist and turn as the Chile earthquake story unfolded:

Reuters was 3 minutes ahead of Bloomberg and 13 minutes ahead of Dow Jones on the first alert of a massive earthquake at 06:43 GMT on February 27th.

Reuters was 5 hours ahead of Bloomberg in reporting that there was no damage to BHP’s Escondida mine in the far north, the biggest in the world, quoting a union leader who said the quake had not been felt strongly in the northern region that produces most of the country’s copper.

Reuters was 2 and a half hours ahead of Bloomberg and cited by Dow Jones in reporting that Codelco, the biggest copper producer in the world, had shut down its El Teniente and Andina mines (producing some 600,000 tonnes per year) near Santiago because of the quake, while saying it expected the mines to resume operations quickly and that they had sustained little damage; this was later proven correct.

Reuters was initially unmatched in reporting that Anglo-American had been forced to shut down its Los Bronces and El Soldado mines (producing nearly 300,000 tonnes per year); Bloomberg cited Reuters on the story and later matched it.

Reuters was initially unmatched in reporting that Freeport McMoRan’s Candelaria mine (producing 185,000 tpy) had been forced to shut because it had lost power, but had not suffered any structural damage.

Within 10 hours of the quake, Reuters had produced a clear Factbox explaining which mines had been affected, how much capacity had been shut in and how far those mines were located from the epicentre. This provided a valuable snapshot of the sector’s condition for traders as markets opened in Asia and Europe on Monday, and won unsolicited praise from clients.

Reuters was an hour ahead of all major competitors in reporting that the earthquake had affected Chile’s BioBio oil refinery, which was just miles from the hard-hit city of Concepcion; later in the week Reuters exclusively reported that the refinery could be out of service for as long as a month, double the length of time earlier estimated, and was alone in reporting the refinery’s condition from on site.

Reuters was first to interview Chile’s mining minister on the same day as the quake to report that Codelco had also halted its Caletones smelting unit, but that the company had sufficient inventories to cover all its export contracts; Bloomberg reported on Codelco’s ability to meet its supply contracts a day later.

By Sunday, Feb. 28, as the situation became clearer, Reuters was an hour or more ahead in reporting that Codelco was restarting its El Teniente and Andina mines, and quoting a union leader that Anglo-American was restarting its Los Bronces mine. Also on Sunday, Bloomberg cited Reuters after Anglo-American confirmed that both its mines had restarted, and that roadways were clear.

Later in the week, Reuters was first to report that state oil company ENAP had bought a cargo of diesel, had delayed a tender to import crude oil because of the damage to the BioBio refinery, and then had declared force majeure.