Ecobreves – CHILE: Mining Project Has Town on Alert

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

SANTIAGO, Mar 23 2009 (IPS) - The Chilean town of Tierra Amarilla, 805 km north of Santiago, has filed numerous observations about the Caserones copper mining project, of the Japanese firm Lumina Copper, as part of the environmental impact assessment process. It is the first time that officials from that mining community are participating in the environmental affairs of a mining site, environmental engineer and municipal advisor Manuel Pizarro told Tierramérica.

The town is calling for the construction of a water desalinization plant due to the water shortages the region faces, for expanding the project's area of influence to more communities, and that the firm recognize its impacts on employment and other issues.

The assessment of the 1.7-billion-dollar project is slated for completion at the end of July. The project also faces challenges from public services.