Four of the preliminary charges are considered “serious” and they include the allegedly deficient rescue and relocation of vizcachas, rodents native to South America belonging to the chinchillas family, which have given South African bullion producer Gold Fields (TSX, NYSE: GFI) more than one headache.
The permit for Quebrada Blanca mine includes 13 resolutions that regulate different areas of open pit copper extraction, as well as truck hauling to the port of Iquique, SMA said in the statement.
The directives also apply to the ongoing underground expansion of the mine, Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 or QB2, considered by Teck as its most important growth project.
The new mine section is slated to begin operations in the second half of the year, doubling the company’s copper production by 2023.
QB2 will extend the aging deposit’s life by 28 years and boost production to 300,000 tonnes of copper a year from…
