Chile court upholds blasting ban for Mina Invierno

The Valdivia environmental court upheld a precautionary measure to suspend blasting at Mina Invierno coalmine in southern Chile's Magallanes region.

The company and the union asked the tribunal to lift the measure, claiming it was “disproportionate and unnecessary.”

The measure prevents Mina Invierno from blasting below an altitude of 100m and in quaternary fluvioglacial strata and gray sandstones of the Loreto formation, the tribunal said in a release.

In the resolution, the court said information presented by the parties wishing to see the measure lifted is “confusing and generates uncertainty in respect to the effects of the blasting on the paleobotanical component.”

The measure is proportional because Mina Invierno is not prevented from extracting coal, since the blasting is a complementary method to mechanical extraction, which is not prohibited, the release said.

In April, Mina Invierno argued that if the precautionary measure remained in place, the company would have to halt most of its fleet of trucks and dismiss workers.

However, in its ruling, the court said the company could not prove why exploitation of the pit cannot continue mechanically in those areas where there are no compact gray sandstones.

The tribunal also said Mina Invierno failed to comply with the precautionary measure because it carried out blasting in strata not authorized by the court, and it warned the company about sanctions.

Mina Invierno is a JV between Chilean holding company Copec and shipping company Ultramar. It extracts sub-bituminous coal from the Invierno mine on Riesco island and supplies thermoelectric generators.