Doubts cloud BHP's Cerro Colorado mine after Chilean court ruling
SANTIAGO - The operations of global miner BHP's Cerro Colorado copper mine in water-parched northern Chile have been thrown into doubt after the country's Supreme Court upheld local indigenous communities' complaint about the project's water use.
The court ruled late on Wednesday night that a routine evaluation of the mine's environmental project, including by a committee of Ministers, failed to take into account warnings by locals that its operations were overdrawing water and impacting local wetlands.
It said the complaint, filed by the San Isidro de Quipisca Indigenous Agricultural Association against the environmental approval granted on November 12, 2016, was upheld.
Cerro Colorado, a small mine in BHP's Chilean portfolio, produced about 1.2% of Chile's total copper output in 2019. The country is the largest copper producer in the world.
Lawyers acting for the indigenous group said the mine would have to suspend while a fresh environmental review already underway is completed.
BHP, however, said the mine could continue to operate while the review was conducted based on the terms of an earlier finding on the same dispute by the Environmental Court.
"Cerro Colorado is already working on the compliance with the measures required by the Environmental Court before the Environmental Evaluation Service (SEA) and ... reaffirms its willingness to establish dialogue processes based on respect, good faith and the principles of BHP's Indigenous Peoples Plan," the company said in a statement.
Lorenzo Soto, a lawyer for the indigenous group, told Reuters on Thursday that water pumping to feed Cerro Colorado's operations had almost entirely dried out high-altitude wetlands around its operations in the Tarapaca region.
"We have been raising this for several years," he said. "The surrounding communities are victims of dust and noise emissions, and any water they have is contaminated."
He said the Supreme Court ruling was the culmination of a five-year legal battle.
"Cerro Colorado's environmental operating permit is annulled and, that permit being annulled, the company must stop," he said.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation