Chile: BHP, Antofagasta and Albemarle sued over alleged excessive water use and environmental damage
要約
Date Reported: 2022年4月11日
場所: チリ
企業
Albemarle - Parent Companyプロジェクト
Salar de Atacama - Operation関連
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
コミュニティ: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , 鉱業 , Gender not reported ) , Ecosystem: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported )課題
水へのアクセス , Water pollution , 先住民族 , Clean, Healthy & Sustainable Environment回答
Response sought: いいえ
情報源のタイプ: Regulatory action
要約
Date Reported: 2022年3月11日
場所: チリ
企業
Antofagasta Minerals (part of Luksic Group) - Parent Companyプロジェクト
Antucoya - Operation関連
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
コミュニティ: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , 鉱業 , Gender not reported ) , Ecosystem: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , 鉱業 , Gender not reported )課題
水へのアクセス , Water pollution , Clean, Healthy & Sustainable Environment , 先住民族回答
Response sought: いいえ
情報源のタイプ: Regulatory action
要約
Date Reported: 2022年4月8日
場所: チリ
企業
Minera Escondida Ltd (Joint venture between BHP (57%), Rio Tinto (30%) and JECO Corp (10%)) - Parent Companyプロジェクト
Escondida - Operation関連
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
コミュニティ: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , 鉱業 , Gender not reported ) , Ecosystem: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , 鉱業 , Gender not reported )課題
水へのアクセス , Clean, Healthy & Sustainable Environment , 先住民族回答
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
取られた措置: Escondida said "it is fully convinced that it has acted in accordance with its obligations" and that it had technical studies showing there was no deterioration in the Tilopozo area of the aquifer.
情報源のタイプ: News outlet
"Chilean State sues BHP, Antofagasta mines over Atacama water use" 8 April 2022
Chile is suing mines operated by BHP (BHP.AX), Antofagasta (ANTO.L) and Albemarle (ALB.N) over alleged environmental damage caused by their operations in the northern Salar de Atacama salt flats, a court said...
The State Defense Council (CDE) launched its legal action in the environmental court over the pace of extraction from the Monturaqui-Negrillar-Tilopozo aquifer - an important source of ground water - it said had impacted the fragile ecosystem...
Increased exploitation "caused serious, permanent and irreparable deterioration of the aquifer, of the Tilopozo plains, of the fauna, and of the life systems and customs of the Peine Indigenous Community," the First Environmental Court said, citing the lawsuit. "The extraction of various amounts of water by the sued mining companies would have caused damage that was foreseeable, since they were aware of the maximum limit of descent that the aquifer could have," it added.
Antofagasta's Zaldivar copper mine said in a statement on Friday that it had extracted water in accordance with what was allowed in its permits, adding that there was "no evidence of environmental damage."
Escondida, the world's largest copper deposit controlled by BHP, said "it is fully convinced that it has acted in accordance with its obligations" and that it had technical studies showing there was no deterioration in the Tilopozo area of the aquifer.
Albemarle, one of the main lithium miners in Chile, did not immediately respond to a request for comment...
In March, Chile's environmental watchdog SMA fined Escondida for exceeding the maximum level allowed for water extraction since 2005. Also last month, the SMA filed charges against Albemarle for irregularities in its operation at the salar. The CDE, a state body answerable to Boric, is demanding that the environmental damage be made good and that the mining firms take steps to ensure such events are not repeated...