SANTIAGO, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Chilean miners including...

SANTIAGO, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Chilean miners including state-owned Codelco will evaluate transportation alternatives after a key railway suspended transport of a major copper product due to growing theft in the country's main mining region, the state firm said on Tuesday.

Chile is the world's top copper producer but a recent wave of robberies have undermined the logistics of bringing the valuable red metal to market.

Global BHP Group (BHP) , another major miner with operations in the South American country, said it is also assessing its transport options, according to a statement issued last week.

The FCAB railway arm of Chile's Antofagasta Group ANTO.L announced last weekend an indefinite suspension of the transport of so-called cathodes, copper sheets used to make a wide variety of goods, due to robberies mostly targeting lines in the country's northern region.

Codelco is implementing a plan to ensure the continuity of transportation for its products, the company said in a brief statement sent to Reuters.

FCAB added the suspension will continue until significant security improvements are implemented.

Chile mostly produces copper concentrates, but a quarter of its output last year was represented by cathodes.

In June, the government launched a plan to boost police presence and surveillance in the north, a sparsely populated area that is also home to the bone-dry Atacama Desert.

Chile's key mining sector called on the government in mid-August to take more action to stop what it then described as an "escalation" of criminal activity.