Chilean Miners Escape, Chile ETF Celebrates! (ECH)

The Chilean people are brimming with happiness today, as a third of the trapped miners were rescued from deep underground. According to a Reuters report, "Twelve of Chile's 33 trapped miners were hoisted to safety in a cramped rescue capsule on Wednesday, cheering and punching the air as they hugged their families after two months deep underground." "This is a miracle from God," said Alberto Avalos, the uncle of Florencio Avalos, the first miner to escape. While the rescue operation is by no means complete, there is some solace that progress is being made. The miners have been stuck below ground for 69 days, after the mine collapsed. The Reuters report notes that "One by one, the miners climbed into the capsule, which is barely wider than a man's shoulders and equipped with a gas mask and escape hatches, and took a roughly 15-minute journey through 2,050 feet of rock to freedom." Chilean stock markets are celebrating the news Wednesday, with a surge of over 2%. The iShares MSCI Chile Investable Market Index Fund

, which seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the MSCI Chile Investable Market Index, is up 2.15% this morning, to $74.27. The Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure broad based equity market performance in Chile. The ETF is sitting near 52-week highs and could continue to rally if copper, its primary export, continues to appreciate.