Chilean environmental authorities have brought charges against state-owned mining giant Codelco for failing to comply with environmental regulations at the Talabre tailings dam. The Superintendency of the Environment (SMA) has filed two charges against Codelco, accusing the company of not validating or implementing a contingency plan to manage the "progressive alteration" of underground water resources and for improperly handling tailings materials between 2017 and 2024.
These measures were mandated following public complaints about potential contamination of the Rio Loa River and local spring sinkholes. The SMA has given Codelco 10 business days to submit a compliance program and 15 business days to appeal the charges. If found guilty, the company could face fines of up to $8.7 million.
Codelco acknowledged receipt of the charges and stated that it would thoroughly analyze them to respond appropriately, aiming to meet the demands of the authorities and the expectations of the community. The company emphasized its commitment to addressing the situation and outlined its intent to provide detailed plans to fulfill its obligations.
This environmental scrutiny comes as Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, reported a decline in production, with 580,000 fine metric tonnes (tmf) of copper produced in the first half of 2024, down 8.4% from the same period in 2023.
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