Metal Bulletin - By Danielle Assalve
Sao Paulo 14/10/2016 - Chilean environmental regulator SMA has filed charges against Antofagasta’s Los Pelambres copper mine for alleged irregularities.
A total of nine environmental breaches were found at the mine situated in the region of Coquimbo, the regulator said on Thursday October 13.
“Five breaches have been classified as grave and four as mild,” SMA said in the statement.
The charges are related to water resources and wildlife management, the regulator added.
Upon receiving the notification from SMA, Los Pelambres has ten days to submit a plan to fix the breaches or 15 days to appeal against the charges.
Los Pelambres had not been officially notified by the regulator of the charges at the time of this story’s publication.
"[But] there is already work in place to ensure the full compliance with environmental commitments” for many of the charges mentioned in SMA’s press release, the company said in a statement.
The filing of the charges is the first step of a sanction procedure by SMA.
The process could result in a fine of up to 29,000 annual tax units (UTA), which equals about $23.7 million.
Earlier this year, Antofagasta reached an agreement with local communities in the area of Los Pelambres, whom long opposed the tailings dam constructed in the site.
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