in the launch of the Office of “Sustainable project management” (GPS), in May of this year, the Government released a list of 212 initiatives that will drive during the present presidential term. A total of U$ 62 billion investment for the period 2018-2021, of which half corresponds to mining.
Although removal is an activity by exhaustible definition, public speaking refers to it recursively to talk about sustainability. Impossible combination, which oxymoron that becomes a reality in the figure of “sustainable mining” ignoring a basic question: can be sustainable that must necessarily end?
Is in this framework that fits this new impetus to private investment unit, where the only priority in Aysén project is possible future operation “The domes” adjacent to the national reserve Jeinimeni in Chile Chico, in an area of great tourist interest with the Mole Valley and the national monument Cueva de las Manos in his vicinity. The land where today are the drilling would be part of the Patagonia Park, which triggered an intense lobby of the company to prevent such a possibility.
The explorations are driven by society Southern Gold, controlled by Australian mining Equus Mining and whose Constitution participated Sergio Romero, son of the former RN Senator of the same name.
The current project appears in the portal of the Ministry of economy that brings together initiatives in “exploration phase for a potential mining project of gold and silver that will see an investment between U$ 600-1400 million”. The investment projected at this early stage is $ 4 million, i.e., $2,300 million without environmental impact assessment.
“The domes” fast track?
The GPS Office, created by Decree of 14 may, seeks to accelerate projects that “are environmentally friendly and respectful with the communities that host them”. This in the framework of a “war on excessive bureaucracy, negligence, incompetence, which many times is what has our country to a standstill”, said President Sebastián Piñera to announce the law Pro investment project by the same date. Multiple measures, this allows to the “environmental assessment for review (the technical pronouncements of evaluators public bodies) and omit those groundless pronouncements or relating to matters outside the competence of the” respective body”and sets”the binding nature of the responses to the consultations of relevance of those interested in presenting a project to environmental impact assessment, or modifications to projects underway”.
That day Piñera, also reported on the sent an ex officio President of the National Commission on productivity, Joseph Ramos, in which mandates you conduct a study of “Regulatory review of strategic sectors”. This asks you to “propose recommendations for public policy with the aim of carrying out an administrative simplification and regulatory processes and permissions required for the development of investment projects in strategic sectors, maintaining standards suitable for sustainable growth”.
One of its objectives is to “design a simplification strategy regulatory permitting to revise systematically the permissions that do not meet the objectives for which they were designed and the efficient management of their processing. Therefore seeks to achieve a better level of coherence and efficiency regulatory in the short, medium and long term, allowing to apply effectively and efficiently with the rules so that this does not mean an impediment to investment projects”.
This purpose is known as “unlock projects” in economic jargon. An idea of the complex when the selected initiatives involve the promotion of public policies and laws ad hoc, and even withdraw from legal actions by State agencies.
It was on 8 May this year that the Minister of national property, Felipe Ward, put in knowledge of the Senate’s Environment Committee certain irregularities committed by Southern Gold. His words are endorsed by the official document hosted on the portal of the Corporation, as well as the audio from the session.
In his presentation, Ward noted that “have arisen concerns regarding concessions for exploration and mining exploitation within the Park (there are five concessions of exploitation and eleven exploration), and the possibility of development of these”. And he added: “Was detected, the Ministry, the realization of illegal mining on land tax to the interior of the Lago Jeinimeni national reserve by the mining company Equus Mining”, with which reported that “the Ministry will coordinate with the Council Defense of the State the filing of environmental legal actions that correspond”.
Until today there is no public information on the result of this commitment, which also called via transparency for the delivery of the background to the case.
The Senators filing was made to days that the holder of national assets should meet in his office, on 3 may, Damien Koerber and Sergio Romero on behalf of Southern Gold. In the quotation would have pointed out you that its activities “are out, but apparently through roads would have a conflict with the limits” Jeinimeni national reserve. According to the website www.infolobby.cl, the audience was discuss “mining exploration in tax assets (Chico Chile, Aysén region) that can be incorporated into the current Jeinemeni reserve and any future National Park, Patagonia”.
But this is not the only situation in which the Government must decide if it separates its political will of privileging certain investment projects of its constitutional obligation to govern in the public interest and law enforcement. Situation in which 212 initiatives already prioritized by the Office of “Sustainable project management” would be found.
To advance the project “The domes” of Southern Gold more beyond of the exploration phase, must submit to the evaluation system of environmental impact (SEIA) where will be the Government that will resolve their future through authorities designated in the Commission’s Environmental assessment. This in the framework of an institutional Pinera administration waiting to edit, removed the regional directorates of the service’s environmental assessment (SEA) to bind them in macrozonas: Antofagasta, metropolitan and Los Ríos.
A mining initiative which, according to give to know the story of El Mostrador, has links to media of right and former leaders of renovación Nacional, political birthplace of the President.
In addition, the tacit alliance between Southern Gold and the questioned minera Cerro Bayo, on which weighs the disappearance of two workers during 2017 in the tunnels of the mine Delia 2 product of a flood. According to sources, the Australian company aims to use the present facilities at Cerro Bayo, which today has in evaluation to the (using environmental impact statement) is a project to rehabilitate the flooded mine Javiera, located on the priority site for the conservation of the biodiversity steppes Jeinimeni-Lakes Bay Jara and inside the polygon area of Chelenko tourist attractions. The project aims to remove 580 thousand M3 of water from its galleries and deposit them in the Salitrosa lagoon, distant 2.3 kilometers, which would triple its volume with the eventual risk of contaminate nearby water courses, according to alert the General direction of Waters.
Organizations, including the private corporation for the development of Aysén, which I Chair, asked that you arose study and statement does not affect an area under official protection, which was rejected by the previous Government. Today the topic climbed at the central level by the interposed resource, which is still unresolved. In case of persisting refusal, cannot be ruled out recourse to environmental courts.
Southern Gold not only has interests in Chile Chico. Only 11 kilometres from Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez (also in the basin of Lake General Carrera), in the area adjacent to the pyramid Hill and adjacent to the limits of the zone of interest tourist Chelenko, the company is conducting requirements to constitute the motions Diablo 1, Diablo 2, Diablo 3, Diablo 4, Devil 5, Devil 6 and Devil 7 by 2,100 hectares.
In this way, the future of the offensive against the Patagonia Park to benefit the project “The domes” that aims to operate on fiscal lands that would become part of the new protected wilderness area would have effects, also, on the north shore of the basin.
A possibility that increases the local concern, then that recently the grouping “Pure Ibáñez” with local residents conform with the aim to cope now mining offensive in the basin of Lake General Carrera and, incidentally, in the region of Aysen.
Poured in this op-ed content is the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial line nor the counter position.
