Erwin Sandoval, president of the Private Corporation for the Development of Aysén (CODESA), criticized what he called "delaying tactics" by Chile’s national mining service (SERNAGEOMIN) and Minera Pacífico del Sur, which have prevented the State from accessing urgent resources to address pollution at the El Toqui site. He cited Law 20,551, which requires mining companies to have an approved closure plan before starting operations.

 

The regulation requires every mining project to establish financial guarantees for the full cost of the closure plan, once it is approved. Added to the law in 2011, this measure is meant to protect people and the environment if a company abandons a site or fails to carry out its closure plan. The State can then use these funds to safeguard the public interest.

 

Abandoned mining sites—including facilities, tailings ponds, and chemical storage centers—have caused many problems in Chile. In Aysén, the Confluencia tailings dam at El Toqui is a prime example.

In late 2018, SERNAGEOMIN, led by National Deputy Director of Mining Pablo Rivas, approved a closure plan for El Toqui without the required financial guarantee. Just six months earlier, the mine had been sanctioned for expanding the Confluencia Tailings Dam without an environmental impact assessment, which led to heavy metal contamination in the area.

 

At the time, El Toqui was owned by Australian company Laguna Gold, which declared bankruptcy in 2019. In March 2020, after negotiations, ownership transferred to Minera Pacífico del Sur—along with the 2018 closure plan.

 

The plan requires Minera Pacífico del Sur to make annual payments, starting at 88,843 UF in year one and totaling 506,948 UF by year 18, assuming the mine operates until 2034.

 

After the company failed to pay the first three installments, SERNAGEOMIN fined Minera Pacífico del Sur 5,840 UTM for not providing the required financial guarantee for the closure plan. The agency also ordered the company to comply with the law. When the company challenged the fine, the 25th Civil Court of Santiago rejected their appeal.

 

Since October 2024, the dispute has stalled in the Santiago Court of Appeals after the company’s appeal. Despite the State’s urgent need for the funds, SERNAGEOMIN and Minera Pacífico del Sur have repeatedly delayed the case, preventing progress.

 

First, both parties agreed to postpone the hearing from January 2 to February 28, 2025, delaying proceedings by nearly two months.

 

They continued to postpone hearings through the first half of 2025, sometimes acting separately and sometimes together.

 

After exhausting the allowed extensions, in July 2025 the company requested a “clarification of positions,” asking the acting SERNAGEOMIN director to answer new questions—prompting further delays and more paperwork.

 

In August, both parties again asked to postpone the hearing, citing the acting director’s “excessive workload,” and requested it be held after the national holidays. The court scheduled Andrés León to appear on March 12, 2026—one day after the new government took office.

 

On March 11, nearly 19 months after the appeal was filed, Minera Pacífico del Sur withdrew its request to summon SERNAGEOMIN’s acting director—still with no progress in the case.

 

“The company has been sanctioned for severe pollution, failed to implement its 2018 closure plan, and faces ongoing penalties for poor environmental practices. It is urgent that the State secure the financial guarantees needed to protect people’s lives, health, and the environment, as required by Law 20.551,” said Erwin Sandoval.

 

“It goes against the public interest for SERNAGEOMIN to delay this process. Despite admitting that the financial guarantee is essential for mining operations, the company continues to operate without complying with this legal requirement,” Sandoval added.

 

Meanwhile, residents of Alto Mañihuales continue to suffer from heavy metal contamination, as confirmed by environmental authorities.