"Chilean MP, NGOs demand halt to Nutrex exploration project at Juncal Andean Park", 21 April 2024

...Chilean MP María Francisca Bello, who belongs to President Gabriel Boric’s Social Convergence Party, joined forces with environmental organizations from the Aconcagua Valley to present an appeal for protection before the Valparaíso Court of Appeals demanding a halt to an exploration project proposed by Nutrex SpA in the Juncal Andean Park.

The appeal, backed by NGOs Sustainable Aconcagua, Corporation for the Preservation and Rehabilitation of Andean Fauna, Santa María Assembly for the Environment and Heritage, and Wanaku Akunkawa, focuses both on environmental protection and the right of the communities surrounding Juncal Park to live in a pollution-free environment. 

Nutrex requested Chilean authorities a deadline extension to present the required documents to start working in the area, as it had until April 16, 2024, to establish its presence on the site by setting up equipment and some infrastructure but couldn’t do so after being blocked by environmental activists. 

If the extension is denied, which is one of the aims of the appeal for protection, activists would have more time to build their case, as Nutrex would have to restart the whole process and this could take up to a year...

The park extends for over 13,700 hectares and is located in the Aconcagua Valley, in Chile’s Fifth Region. It provides access to the Juncal Glacier and surrounding mountains and hosts several estuaries, wetlands, ice and rock glaciers, and a wide range of native and endemic species of flora and fauna...