Chilean UFO and CEFAA analysis (Photo : CEFAA)
An unidentified saucer shaped object that circled for over an hour above one of Chile's largest copper mines in April 2013 has been recognized as a bona fide UFO by the Chilean government.
An extensive study of the UFO incident by the Committee for the Study of Anomalous Aerial Phenomena (CEFAA), a Chilean government-funded UFO research group, concluded the gleaming, silvery disc seen in photos above the Collahuasi copper mine in northern Chile was not a drone as had been widely held. Neither was this object an airplane.
The study concludes "(It is) an object or phenomenon of great interest, and it can be qualified as a UFO", said CEFAA in its report, a video of which can be seen here.
Jose Lay, international affairs director for CEFAA, said the UFO could not have been a drone operating in the mine area, according to the Huffington Post.
CEFAA officials ruled out experimental aircraft, planes, weather balloons or anything else that could explain the incident.
It investigated the photos and released its results in 2014. CEFAA suggested the object, which was photographed from two different positions in the sky, convinced witnesses it was under intelligent control.
CEFAA is part of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC), which is the equivalent of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, and under the authority of the Chilean Air Force.
"We believe the phenomenon exists, and we base this asseveration on the many reports made by our pilots -- civilian and military -- and by our ground traffic and radar controllers," said Lay.
"We do not know its origin or its nature. That is why we continue investigating and hope many other countries will join us in this endeavor. Period.
"We have gathered a selected group of scientists from our most reputed universities to help us in the committee, together with aeronautic specialists from our DGAC. I must also mention the full support of all our armed services and police."
The Collahuasi mine is located in the north of Chile in the Atacama Region. Collahuasi has one of the largest copper reserves in Chile and in the world, estimated at 3.93 billion tonnes of ore grading 0.66% copper.
