Anglo American (LON: AAL) has suffered a new setback in Chile after the environmental commission of Valparaiso, Coeva, rejected the company鈥檚 $40 million operational continuity project for its El Soldado copper mine, 125km north of the capital Santiago.
Despite having the backing of the country鈥檚 environmental evaluation authority, which recommended the project鈥檚 approval, the local regulator scratched El Soldado Phase V project with 10 voting against and only two in favour.
The news, divulged through social media, was confirmed to 九游下载apk by the London-based company鈥檚 spokesperson.
Aaron Puna, executive president of Anglo American said in a public statement the company was surprised with the resolution.
鈥淭he project had a Consolidated Evaluation Report (ICE) that recommended its approval and was backed by all the services that participated in the environmental assessment process,鈥� Puna said.
This is the sixth mining project vetoed by the government of President Gabriel Boric, who assumed in March this year and the second for Anglo American.
In May, a Chilean environmental regulator formally rejected the company鈥檚 application for a $3 billion expansion of its flagship Los Bronces copper mine.
The asset, one of Anglo American鈥檚 two largest copper operations, has been mined for over 150 years and is running out of high-grade ore.聽The Los Bronces Integrated Project聽(LBIP)聽would have allowed the company to tap higher grade ores from a new underground section of the mine, extending its life through 2036.聽
Anglo American has been the majority-owner of El Soldado since 2002. The mine started operations in 1980 and produced 42,300聽tonnes of copper last year, making it relatively small by Chilean standards.
Diego Hern谩ndez, president of the country鈥檚 National Mining Society聽(SONAMI) condemned Coeva鈥檚 decision.
鈥淚t seems to us that is a very bad sign to see a significant number of projects rejected lately, not only new mines, but operational continuity projects, which are left with no other option than closing down,鈥� he told .
Copper deposits are聽among the hottest assets in mining聽right now,聽mainly due to the metal鈥檚 use in electric vehicles (EVs) and the global green energy revolution.
Experts estimate the copper industry needs to聽spend聽more than $100 billion聽to build mines able to close what could be an annual supply deficit of 4.7 million tonnes by 2030.