On October 17th, foreign media reported that Teck Resources (Toronto Stock Exchange: TECK Resources), Canada’s largest diversified mining company, is facing two charges from the Chilean environmental regulatory agency SMA, for alleged violations of permits at the Carmen de Andacollo copper mine.
Authorities stated on Tuesday that Teck could face fines of up to 7.6 billion pesos (equivalent to 8 million US dollars) for failing to complete the construction of the “Andacollo Cobre” project’s infiltration capture system, which is one of the requirements for obtaining an environmental permit.
SMA also mentioned that the company failed to monitor groundwater to ensure that the presence of chemicals did not exceed the allowable maximum levels.
Chilean environmental regulator María Claude Plumer stated in a press release, “It is important to remind project owners that having environmental permits alone is not enough. Companies must abide by their commitments. This is part of the rules of the game.”
In recent years, SMA has been investigating Teck, primarily concerning its Quebrada Blanca project, but the company has only been fined once.
In August, the Caserones copper mine in Lunding paid a fine equivalent to 9 million US dollars for serious water use violations identified by environmental supervisory authorities.