SANTIAGO, (Reuters) – Chile’s environmental regulator announced yesterday four charges against Canadian-owned Lundin copper mine for a sinkhole that appeared at the site of one of its mines the north of the country in late July.
The country’s SMA environmental regulator said the main infractions were overextraction and construction outside of environmentally approved zones.
Emanuel Ibarra, the SMA superintendent, said in a statement that the regional office’s investigation linked the sinkhole on the mine’s property to ore overextraction.
“In addition, when the event occurred, large amounts of water began to leak into the mine from places where the company intervened beyond what was considered in the environmental assessment,” Ibarra said.
The company could be fined the equivalent of more than $13 million, as well as face closure or have its environmental permit revoked.
