Chile Regulator Fines Caserones Copper Mine $12 Million for Environmental Breaches

摘要

Chile's environmental regulator has brought fines worth 7.62 billion Chilean pesos ($12 million) against SCM Minera Lumina Copper Chile, owner of the Caserones copper mine in the Atacama region. In a March 18 statement, Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente (SMA) said it detected 17 environmental breaches in the mine, eight of which were judged as serious. The breaches at Caserones include launching mine operations before completing required studies, installing unauthorized transmission lines for electricity, and failing to implement water mitigation systems to prevent the contamination of underground water, SMA said.