On 4 March 2023, Minera Los Pelambres, part of Antofagasta Minerals filed an appeal for protection against the community of Choapa Viejo in the Coquimbo region of Chile, who had been blocking the passage of the company's pipeline.

As explained in the appeal filed by the mining company, this was done "due to a series of arbitrary and illegal acts consisting of blocking the private road for public use and, consequently, the impossibility of accessing the land owned by MLP [Minera Los Pelambres]" since mid-March.

The community has been in dialogue with the company since 2015 with regards to it's environmental impacts. The company stated, "Minera Los Pelambres has environmental and also sectorial approval from Sernageomin [Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería] to carry out the work to close the km 80 pool. These works consider a complete plan to dismantle the facility".