According to Reuters, Chile’s environmental regulator announced on Thursday that it has filed two charges against state-owned copper giant Codelco for mismanagement of the Talabre tailings dam at its Ministro Hales division in northern Chile. The charges stem from a lack of an emergency plan to prevent groundwater contamination and the incorrect storage of tailings material in 2017. Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, has ten days to submit a compliance plan and five days to appeal. The company could face a fine of approximately 8 billion pesos (about $8.71 million).
Tailings dams are constructed near mines to store waste materials in liquid or solid form, adhering to strict environmental standards to prevent collapses and pollution of surrounding communities and natural resources. As part of its efforts to reduce environmental impact, Codelco has invested in electric buses, cactus nurseries, and recycling and has stated that it will address this issue promptly.
In response to Reuters’ inquiry, Codelco stated: “We fully understand the concerns raised by this situation, and we will thoroughly explain the plans we have developed and deployed to fulfill our obligations. We aim to overcome this situation as quickly as possible and will promptly correct any identified shortcomings.”
The SMA classified these charges as “serious,” the second of three levels. The agency noted that these charges resulted from a citizen complaint last year, which claimed that leaks from the tailings dam had been occurring since 2019, potentially affecting the Rio Loa aquifer and possibly flowing toward the city of Calama and the Yalquincha aquifer.
Before the complaint, the last inspection by the environmental regulator (SMA) at this site was in 2017, with further analysis conducted last year.
In a statement, SMA said: “The regulator filed two charges against Codelco after finding that the miner had failed to take environmental measures related to the Talabre dam.”
Last year, Codelco applied for an environmental permit to extend the life of its Ministro Hales mine by 30 years with an investment of $2.5 billion. The Talabre dam handles mining waste from Codelco’s Ministro Hales, Chuquicamata, and Radomiro Tomic divisions.
[Source – 上海有色网] Codelco可能因违反尾矿坝规定而面临800多万美元的罚款 https://news.smm.cn/news/102919892
