Chile: Environmental Court modifies its order to BHP and allows it to extract 54 liters of water per second for its Cerro Colorado mining project
Summary
Date Reported: 22 Sep 2021
Location: Chile
Companies
Compañía Minera Cerro Colorado Ltda (CMCC) - Subsidiary , BHP - Parent CompanyProjects
Cerro Colorado - UnknownAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Community: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported )Issues
Access to WaterResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
"Chile court gives BHP's Cerro Colorado copper mine 90-day water pumping reprieve", 21 September 2021
...A Chilean court handed a reprieve to BHP's Cerro Colorado copper mine on Tuesday, agreeing to suspend a ban on it pumping water from an aquifer for 90 days as it prepares a fresh operational continuity plan.
After complaints by locals over the relatively small copper mine's impact on natural resources, the same First Environmental Court in July ruled that the operation must start again from scratch on seeking permits to operate.
In August, the court ordered "precautionary measures" that include ceasing groundwater extraction for 90 days from an aquifer near the mine, a ruling the company appealed.
The court ruled that the company could extract 54 liters per second of water for production purposes, "for a final term of 90 calendar days"...
It urged Chile's Environmental Assessment Service, which approves such plans, to conclude its assessment of the operation as soon as possible.
Cerro Colorado said in a statement that they are "working hard to obtain the positive environmental assessment within the timeframe set by the court"...