SANTIAGO, April 25 (Reuters) - Chile's Codelco was evaluating late on Friday whether or not to reopen its Teniente copper mine in central Chile after strikes forced it to halt operations in order to protect its workforce from demonstrators.

A company source close to the mine, the world's largest underground copper mine, said Codelco was deciding whether to send up the next shift at its regular start time near midnight.

"We're still evaluating," the source said.

Codelco halted work at its El Teniente division on Thursday as permanent workers vowed to stay away until violent protests end by their subcontract colleagues.

Codelco's permanent staff want assurances subcontractors, who on April 16 launched the latest in a series of sometimes violent strikes to demand a bigger share of copper windfall revenues, halt violence before they resume operations at Teniente. (Reporting by Manuel Farias; Editing by Marguerita Choy)