Chile’s Regulator Detects Breaches at Copper Smelter

May 10, 2016, 10:43 PM UTC

Chile’s environmental regulator is investigating state-owned copper company Corporación Nacional del Cobre (Codelco) over breaches at its Ventanas smelting and refining complex in central Chile.

The Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente, or SMA, said in a May 6 statement that its inspectors found 13 breaches of nine environmental licenses at the Codelco site. They included failing to convert processes and equipment to natural gas as promised; not installing a system to capture, scrub and extract acid mist gases for the electrolytic treatment plant; not implementing a procedure for rescuing wildlife; and producing more electrolytic copper and lead foil than permitted.

The ...

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