SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile’s environmental regulator said on Thursday it had filed two charges against state giant Codelco over its management of its Talabre tailings dam at its Ministro Hales division in northern Chile.
The charges related to the lack of a contingency plan to prevent groundwater deterioration and improper disposal of tailings material from 2017.
The company, the world’s largest copper miner, has 10 days to submit a compliance plan and another five days to appeal, and could face a fine of about 8 billion pesos ($8.71 million).
Tailings dams are dikes constructed near mines to store waste in liquid or solid form, and are subject to strict environmental standards to prevent collapses and contamination of surrounding communities and natural resources.
Codelco, which is investing in electric buses, cactus farms and recycling as part of a drive to reduce its impact on the environment, said it would work quickly to address the issue.
“We fully understand the concerns this situation causes, and we will be detailed in describing the plans we have developed and will implement to meet our obligations,” Codelco said in response to questions from Reuters.
“We hope to overcome this situation as quickly as possible and, if any shortcomings are identified, to correct them as quickly as possible.”
The SMA labeled the allegations as ‘serious’, which ranks as the second of three offences. According to the report, they stem from a citizen complaint last year about leakage from the tailings dam since 2019, which could affect the Rio Loa aquifer, but also potentially flow into the town of Calama and the Yalquincha aquifer.
The Talabre Dam processes mine waste from Codelco’s Ministro Hales, Chuquicamata and Radomiro Tomic divisions.
Prior to the complaint, the Superintendency of the Environment (SMA) had last inspected the site in 2017 and carried out further analysis last year.
“The chief inspector issued two charges against Codelco… after determining that the miner had not taken environmental measures regarding the Talabre dam,” the SMA said in a statement.
Codelco last year applied for an environmental permit to extend the life of its Ministro Hales mine by 30 years with an investment of $2.5 billion.
($1 = 918.3200 Chilean pesos)
