Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A | TECK.B; NYSE: TECK), Canada’s largest diversified miner, is facing two charges from Chile’s environmental regulator SMA for alleged breaches of its permit at the Carmen de Andacollo copper mine.
The authority said Tuesday that Teck risks a fine of up to $7.6 billion pesos ($11 million) for not finishing construction of an infiltration capture system at the project known as “Andacollo Cobre.” That system was one of the requirements needed to obtain the environmental permit.
The SMA also said the company had failed to monitor groundwater to ensure the presence of chemicals does not exceed the maximum levels allowed.
“It is important to remind project owners that it is not enough to have an environmental permit”, Chile’s Superintendent of the Environment, Marie Claude Plumer, said in the statement. “Companies must comply with their commitments. It’s part of the rules of the game.”
The SMA has gone after Teck in recent years, mainly around its Quebrada Blanca project, but the company has only been fined once.
Lundin Mining (TSX: LUN) in August had to pay the equivalent of US$9 million for serious water-use violations found by the environment watchdog at its Caserones copper mine.
Air quality monitoring stations at Carmen de Andacollo. Credit: Teck
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