SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Canadian miner Lundin must permanently close its Alcaparrosa copper mine in Chile, the South American nation’s environmental regulator said on Thursday, after a massive sinkhole cracked open near the small mine in 2022.
Lundin had paused work at the site after a sinkhole more than 60 meters deep opened in the Tierra Amarilla village in northern Chile, but had pushed to restart mining at Alcaparrosa.
Chile’s SMA regulator said in a statement that it had ruled Lundin was responsible for the sinkhole, that it must shutter the mine and pay a fine of 3.36 billion pesos ($3.41 million).
Lundin “operated in unauthorized sectors, up until the Copiapo River aquifer, which allowed more water to infiltrate in and subsequently weaken the rock mass,” regulator head Marie Claude Plumer said in a statement.
“The company caused irreparable environmental damage,” she added.
The miner’s local unit, Ojos del Salado, said in a statement that it would review the ruling and determine its nexts steps.
($1 = 984.0500 Chilean pesos)
(Reporting by Alexander Villegas and Fabian Cambero; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Anthony Esposito and Sarah Morland)
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