Mining and Power Projects for $ 37 billion are held back by prosecution
This new dynamic has driven a number of schemes designed to prevent courts are consolidated as an additional instance in processing investment
At least in 10 days, two mining projects worth U.S. $ 4,000 million, were liable to prosecution in the courts of justice.
The Pumas, from the Southern Hemisphere Mining (see related article) and El Morro, belonging to Goldcorp, joined 24 other mining and power initiatives which were stalled by lawsuits that have been filed. This, despite the fact that these projects have approved its environmental permits. This is the case of Punta Alcalde, coal plant by $ 1,400 million from Endesa of 740 MW capacity, suffering a legal setback two weeks ago in the Supreme Court.
In total, as of last week, were almost U.S. $ 37 billion the investments that had been held up by prosecution. A these, more than U.S. $ 17 billion correspond to mining projects.
-The amount calculated by “El Mercurio” on the basis of reports from the Capital Goods Corporation (CBC) and Sofofa, plus details of these companies- has resulted in pressure from the unions to the Executive to explore ways to help reverse or at least stop this situation. This led to President Piñera announced in the Mining Council’s Dinner two weeks ago, a set of initiatives that will send to Congress to provide greater certainty in handling environmental issues related to water use and externalities generated by the mine closure , among other subjects.-
But according to many leaders and mining executives, these measures were late. “The state is moving slower than the institutions,” said Nelson Pizarro, Caserones’s CEO and Counsil’s Director.
“Today the environmental approval is useless because it is sufficient for someone to put an action and stop any project that has already been approved,” said a union leader from Atacama, who added that although the law is reached to approve for this government, “the damage is done. “He explained that the regulatory framework governed since the enactment of new laws on, and not back.
“But it’s something,” said a senior executive of a mining project that has a project paralyzed by a court after being approved environmentally. He added that the law promotes a kind of blackmail to the investor: “During the pendency some lawyers and community representatives approached me who did not participate in the consultation process of the project and offered me not stop it by legal means if they were paid to them, directly, an amount of money. As we did not do it, after it was approved they put resources and paralyzed the project, despite having done everything, and having gone through a process of comprehensive and transparent consultation, “he lamented.
A breakthrough that could help reduce the range of legal actions to halt investment corresponds to regulation formalizing the establishment of Indigenous-Consultation under Convention-169, which begin to take effect this month.
This, was said by the CPC?s chairman, Andrés Santa Cruz, “aims to give greater legal certainty for investment projects, which is an important step (…) This matter, so far, had been paid to confusion, because there was not a clear rule that would regulate “.
The accuracy in the application of this agreement becomes relevant, considering that most of the strikes of projects in Chile through the courts is linked to environmental issues and community conflicts, both of which seek to “improve” bills that be sent to Congress. These contained a modification of the Water Code, the Law on Mine Closure and new powers for SERNAGEOMIN.
Source: El Mercurio
