Environmental Approval Does Not Ensure Project Completion: Communities Announce Legal Action and Mobilization Against Rare Earth Mining Approved by Kast Government

The vote took place amid protests outside the Regional Presidential Delegation in downtown Concepción, where environmental organizations, Mapuche communities, and local residents expressed their opposition to the extractive project, highlighting its potential impacts on water resources, ecosystems, the local economy, and community life in the region.

The meeting was presided over by regional presidential delegate Julio Anativia, along with María Eliana Vega, regional director of the SEA, and included participation from various Regional Ministerial Secretaries (Seremis) such as Transportation Secretary Henry Campos; Housing Secretary Luis Villagra; Public Works Secretary José Piña; Social Development Secretary Daniel Manchileo; Energy Secretary Javier Salamanca; Health (substitute) Secretary Ernesto Bravo; Environmental Secretary Mario Delannays; Mining Secretary Daniel Escobar; Agriculture Secretary Francisco Lagos; and Economic Secretary Christian Cifuentes.

All these officials are appointed by the government of José Antonio Kast, which has publicly supported the expansion of rare earth mining.

Massive March Precedes the Vote

The environmental approval came just two days after a massive march from Penco to Lirquén, where hundreds of people took to the streets with slogans against mining, extractivism, and the establishment of polluting industries in the Concepción Bay.

The mobilization, called by territorial and environmental organizations, highlighted the ongoing public rejection of the project promoted by Aclara Resources, which has faced scrutiny during its environmental processing.

Various groups also noted that in a citizen consultation conducted in 2022, the community overwhelmingly opposed the initiative.

Communities Announce Legal and Territorial Offensive

Camila Arriagada, spokesperson for the campaign “Penco-Lirquén Free of Mines” —a coalition of territorial and environmental organizations, the Chamber of Commerce, the gastronomy and tourism guild, neighborhood councils, and peasant associations— stated that the communities are preparing a strategy of opposition that will combine legal actions, administrative measures, and sustained social mobilization in the territory.

“The appeal to the Executive Director of the SEA and actions before the Environmental Court are the legal and administrative avenues we will pursue following this approval, and we will move forward with those processes,” asserted Camila Arriagada.

The leader added that the organizations will also seek to strengthen territorial coordination and increase social pressure against the project: “We will exhaust all avenues, not just legal and administrative. We will also organize as a movement to exert all necessary social pressure,” she said.

In this regard, the spokesperson announced that the communities will initiate further mobilizations and are considering broader measures: “We will call for demonstrations and all actions that continue to express our discontent with this approval, even moving towards a communal and intercommunal strike to build a more robust and sustained opposition over time,” she indicated.

OLCA: “Approval Does Not Guarantee Project Completion”

According to Javier Arroyo Olea from the Latin American Observatory of Environmental Conflicts (OLCA), the unanimous approval of the project is part of a government policy aimed at accelerating extractive investments across various territories.

“The current situation reflects a pressure to expedite projects that are questioned both environmentally and socially, as part of the government’s agenda and the interests of transnational extractive companies,” he stated.

Arroyo emphasized that there has been sustained territorial resistance in Penco-Lirquén for over a decade against the mining initiative by Aclara Resources, driven by communities and organizations seeking to strengthen alternatives linked to local commerce, environmental defense, and the productive vocation of the territory.

The OLCA researcher further asserted that the environmental approval does not guarantee project completion, recalling previous experiences of territorial resistance in Concepción Bay.

“The decision of Kast’s regional representatives is significant, but it does not mean that the project will be built. Penco-Lirquén and Concepción Bay have historical references of territorial defense, such as GNL Talcahuano and GNL Penco, projects that, despite having environmental approval, failed to materialize due to community persistence,” Arroyo highlighted.

He also pointed out that the recent mobilization between Penco and Lirquén represents just one of the many forms of organization that communities have developed to confront the extractive project.

“The march reflects one of the expressions developed by the movement in defense of the territory, but it is not the only one. In this new phase, the goal is to continue opening pathways and strategies that strengthen the community role and territorial opposition to the project,” concluded the OLCA representative.

Concerns About Environmental Evaluation

From the community, Camila Arriagada reiterated that while the approval was anticipated due to the stance of regional authorities, significant concerns remain regarding the environmental evaluation of the project.

“The vote from these Seremis was not a surprise, but there are still many inconsistencies in the environmental evaluation. The mitigation and compensation measures are insufficient, and the SEA did not present the most significant risks or impacts of the project, especially in critical aspects such as the presence of radioactive elements in the study,” she warned.

The spokesperson added that during the presentation at the COEVA meeting, it became evident that there was an institutional defense of private investment over the interests of affected communities: “What we saw is how these state agencies are more concerned with defending the interests of private investment than those of the communities,” questioned Arriagada.

Similarly, Valeria Sepúlveda, a member of the “Penco-Lirquén Free of Mines” campaign, criticized the decision made by COEVA and the lack of responses to the observations made by citizens and the municipality during the environmental evaluation.

“It is very disappointing that, for example, the Seremi of Health qualified this project as ‘only disturbing’. There was no response to the citizens’ observations or those from the municipality, and even so, it was maintained that the project technically complies with environmental regulations,” she pointed out.

Sepúlveda also indicated that the organizations will continue to pursue institutional and legal actions to prevent the mining company from establishing in the territory: “We will continue to file complaints and utilize all possible legal and judicial tools. Just because this project was approved doesn’t mean we will stand idly by,” asserted the leader.

“We Will Keep Fighting Until the End”

During the march preceding the vote, María Flores Quilapán, a Mapuche woman and member of the Koñintu Lafken Mapu organization, stated that the communities will remain mobilized despite the institutional approval of the project.

“As citizens living in the Penco territory, we say no to the mining company because we know the pollution and impact this mega-corporation generates. Not only will the commune of Penco be affected, but also Tomé, Talcahuano, Santa Juana, Florida, and neighboring communes,” said Quilapán.

Additionally, she warned, “even if the project is approved, we will continue fighting until the end to prevent this mining company from establishing in this historic and tourist commune, a commune that still has clean water.”

30 Days to Submit Appeals

Following the environmental approval, a 30-day period has opened for individuals and organizations that participated with citizen observations to submit appeals. If appeals are filed, the Ministerial Committee will have 60 days to respond.

Social and environmental organizations announced that they will continue to carry out mobilizations, legal actions, and territorial pressure to prevent the project’s execution, insisting that environmental approval does not guarantee social viability in an area marked by socio-environmental conflicts and community resistance against extractivism.

Via Communications OLCA

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