"Mining firm, eco-activists battle over unique Chile archipelago", 18 October 2021

The Humboldt archipelago off the northern Pacific coast of Chile is...under threat, say environmentalists, from a US$2.5-billion mining project on the nearby mainland that has stirred the debate in Chile between the economic benefits of mineral extraction and the need to protect the planet as a climate catastrophe looms. To make matters even more complicated, the Dominga Mining project in the Coquimbo region is also at the center of a corruption scandal that could topple President Sebastián Piñera...

For many locals, the mining project poses a threat to their traditional way of life...

The construction of the cargo port, including a desalination plant, is crucial to making the mining project profitable.

But environmentalists say it will seriously jeopardize both land and marine life on the nearby archipelago...

Not everyone living locally opposes the project...

The company aims to exploit the mines for 22 years, producing 12 million tonnes of iron and 150,000 tonnes of copper a year...

The opposition moved on Wednesday to impeach Piñera over the sale of the Dominga mine in 2010 by a company owned by his children to another in the hands of one of his closest friends.

The deal, mostly concluded in a tax haven, came out in the recent leak of financial documents known as the Pandora Papers. It included a clause that would suspend a final payment installment if the mine area is declared a protected reserve.

Piñera's government ruled in favor of Andes Iron and against the environmentalists.