Codelco slated on copper mine tailings leakCodelco slated on copper mine tailings leak
By: Dorothy Kosich
Posted: '04-DEC-06 08:00' GMT © Mineweb 1997-2006
RENO, NV (Mineweb.com) --Chile’s Environmental Commission CONAMA said that the world’s largest copper miner, state-owned Codelco, has admitted to “failing to comply with regulations, insufficient risk evaluation, insufficient supervision and technical inspection and irresponsible decision-making” regarding the April 16th leak of tailings into two estuaries.
In a report issued this week, CONAMA determined that a breach in Codelco’s El Teniente tailings dam leaked sulfate and molybdenum into the Caren and Alhue estuaries in the Metropolitan Region, polluting 17 kilometers of water used for irrigation and human and animal consumption.
Alejandro Garcia Huidobro, the leader of the investigation, said the Chilean public had to pay US$2.5 million for the cost of the emergency, “and that’s not counting the millions lost from environmental damage. The report found that the 10,000 liters that leaked from the dam caused the deaths of fish, cows, and damage to plants.
Codelco has frequently boasted about the wetlands it established in the estuary including an ecological education project. There were also fields of grapes and fruit trees, located only 200 meters from the estuary.
The report recommended establishing a control mechanism for dealing with the dam once the company’s resources are exhausted. It also condemned that there was no warning system to alert workers of the disaster. The mine was also criticized for a range of inappropriate practices before and after the disaster occurred, and for its failure to assess potential environmental risks, according to El Mercurio.
Meanwhile, Codelco announced Friday that it intends to begin a 25% expansion at its Andina Division in January. The US$530 million project gto increase throughput from 72,000 tpd to 92,000tpd would take 30 months to complete.