Teck faces US$8M fine for alleged breach of enviro permit in Chile

Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A and TECK.B) (NYSE: TECK), Canada’s largest diversified miner, is facing two charges from Chile’s environmental regulator SMA for alleged breaches of the Carmen de Andacollo copper mine’s permit.

The authority said Tuesday that Teck risks a fine of up to US$8 million (7.6 billion pesos) for not finishing construction of an infiltration capture system at the project known as “Andacollo Cobre”. Such system was one of the requirements needed to obtain the environmental permit.

The SMA also said that the company had failed to monitor groundwater to ensure the presence of chemical 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 only once the company has been fined.

Lundin’s Caserones copper mine paid in August the equivalent of $9 million for serious water-use violations found by the environment watchdog.

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MINING.COM