Legislators Claim Soquimich Acting Against Small Miners

Two Chilean lawmakers from the pro-government Christian Democrat Party denounced what they called the "aberrant" decision by industrial minerals producer Soquimich (NYSE: SQM) to ask the Treasury General to provide lawcourts with a list of small- and medium-scale miners behind with mining license payments, La Nacion (Chile) reported. The parliamentarians, Jaime Mulet and Ricardo Rincon, said the measure is aimed at bringing legal action against 25,000 miners late in paying license fees. They also said the request was made in January 1999, precisely when legislation was being discussed in Congress aimed at avoiding double payments for mining licenses. Soquimich's legal officer Matias Astaburuaga, who signed the letter to the Treasury General, said he would not comment until he updated himself on the situation "because it all happened so long ago."