Chile’s Codelco could face $8m fine for tailings dam breach

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile’s environmental regulator said on Thursday it had filed two charges against state giant Codelco over the management of its Talabre tailings dam in northern Chile’s Ministro Hales division.

The charges were for the lack of an emergency plan to avoid harming groundwater and improper storage of tailings materials from 2017.

The company, the world’s largest copper miner, has ten 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 embankments built near mines to store waste in liquid or solid form and are subject to strict environmental standards to prevent collapse and contamination of surrounding communities and natural resources.

Codelco, which is investing in electric buses, cactus nurseries and recycling as part of efforts to reduce its environmental impact, said it would work quickly to solve the problem.

“We fully understand the concern this situation causes and will be exhaustive in detailing the plans we have developed and will implement to comply with our obligations,” Codelco said in response to questions from Reuters.

“We hope to overcome this situation as soon as possible and, if shortcomings are identified, to correct them as soon as possible.”

The SMA labeled the charges as “serious”, which is the second of three levels of offences. They say they stem from a citizen complaint last year that alleged seepage from the 2019 tailings pond could affect the Rio Loa aquifer, as well as potential flow to the city of Calama and the Yalquincha aquifer.

The Talabre Dam processes mining waste from Codelco’s Ministro Hales, Chuquicamata and Radomiro Tomic divisions.

Before the complaint, the Environment Agency (SMA) last inspected the site in 2017. It did additional analysis last year.

“The superintendency laid two charges against Codelco… after finding that the miner failed to take environmental measures related to the Talabre dam,” the SMA said in a statement.

Codelco applied for an environmental permit last year to extend the useful life of the Ministro Hales mine by 30 years with an investment of $2.5 billion.

($1 = 918.3200 Chilean pesos)