Environmental court set to decide on Mina Invierno blasting

A Chilean environmental court heard arguments for two hours for and against blasting at the Mina Invierno coal mine in southern Magallanes region's Isla Riesco.

The Valdivia court said it will take some days to decide on a request by the company to lift a precautionary measure imposed by the tribunal on March 27 that prohibited blasting below an altitude of 100m.

The mining company said the measure was “disproportionate and unnecessary” since the blasting does not affect the paleobotanical component in the Loreto formation where the mine operates.

“If this precautionary measure persists, we would have to paralyze most of the fleet [of trucks] by the end of next month, which would mean the dismissal of half the workers by the end of May and the totality by approximately November this year," Sebastian Gil, general manager of Mina Invierno, was quoted as saying by local newspaper La Tercera. "That is why there’s a social component that should be considered.”

The company also argued that different reports from public services conclude that blasting to mine coal would even be a better method to recollect paleobotanical remains, compared to other methods like mechanical extraction with shovels.

The environmental evaluation service (SEA) also said the precautionary measure was not justified and that the means of monitoring the blasting established in the environmental resolution are enough to guarantee the protection of the paleobotanical and paleontological components.

However, the party that brought the case against the SEA's decision to approve the blasting requested the court impose a more serious precautionary measure than the current one, since the company reportedly violated the ruling.

Mina Invierno is owned by Chile's Angelini and Von Appen groups.