SANTIAGO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Canadian miner Lundin

must permanently close its Alcaparrosa copper mine in

Chile, the South American nation's environmental regulator said

on Thursday, after a massive sinkhole cracked open near the

small mine in 2022.

Lundin had paused work at the site after a sinkhole more

than 60 meters (200 feet) deep opened in the Tierra Amarilla

village in northern Chile, but had pushed to restart mining at

Alcaparrosa.

In a statement, Chile's SMA regulator said it ruled Lundin

was responsible for the sinkhole, and that it must shutter the

mine and pay a fine of 3.36 billion pesos ($3.41 million).

Lundin "operated in unauthorized sectors, up until the

Copiapo River aquifer, which allowed more water to infiltrate in

and subsequently weaken the rock mass," regulator head Marie

Claude Plumer said in a statement.

"The company caused irreparable environmental damage," she

added.

The miner's local unit, Ojos del Salado, said in a statement

that it would review the ruling and determine its next steps.

Late on Thursday, Lundin issued a separate statement in

which it noted that next steps would relate to what it described

as charges it had violated its environmental permit for the

Alcaparrosa project.

The miner stressed its cooperation with SMA's investigation

into the matter, including by providing monitoring technology,

studies and experts.

Lundin said its Candelaria project has not been affected,

and that the mine should produce between 140,000-150,000 tons of

copper in 2025.

($1 = 984.0500 Chilean pesos)

(Reporting by Alexander Villegas and Fabian Cambero; Writing by

Kylie Madry; Editing by Anthony Esposito, Sarah Morland and

Lincoln Feast.)