A committee of Chilean ministers has rejected Andes Iron’s proposal for its $2.5 billion Dominga project, which was to be located in La Higuera, north of the Coquimbo Region. The project was rejected by an environmental commission earlier this year, but Andes Iron appealed the decision, sending it to the committee.
The project’s projected annual production was 12 million tons of iron concentrate and 150,000 tons of copper concentrate as a byproduct, with a life of 26.5 years.
CEO Iván Garrido expressed his disappointment in the decision and said the project, which was recommended for approval by the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA), complied with all environmental regulations.
He added that the quick deliberation by the committee did not allow it to fully review the complaint by Andes Iron or examine the Environmental Impact Study thoroughly, which he said was 3.5-year process, costing more than $300 million.