Chile








Fossil Fuels

Environment

Environment

BHP and Vale accused by UK law firm of 'cheating out' $1.7 billion in legal fees

BHP and Vale face a London suit from a law firm that represents hundreds of thousands people in relation to Brazil's worst environment disaster. The firm alleges the companies tried to cheat them out of legal fees through settlements. BHP stated that it would contest the allegations and reject them "in their entirety". Vale declined comment. Pogust Goodhead will demand 1.3 billion pounds ($1.7billion) in unpaid fees from BHP, the company that represents claimants in a case against BHP relating to the collapse of the Fundao Dam in Mariana in the southeast Brazil in 2015. In the case before London's...

Environment

Scientists say that coastal erosion in Chile could wipe out 10 beaches in a decade.

According to a group of scientists, the central and southern coasts of Chile, which stretch for thousands (miles) on the Pacific Ocean, are at risk of erosion, which could lead to the disappearance or 10 beaches within the next decade. In an interview conducted this month at the Renaca Beach near Vina del Mar, the director of the Coastal Observatory of Universidad Catolica said, "It's going to be very hard for these beaches in the next 10 year," Her team tracked erosion at 67 beaches and found that 86% of them are shrinking steadily -- even in spring and summer...

Environment

Bankers in Latin America urge Latin America's governments to lower barriers to attract renewable energy funds

Multilateral bank executives stated on Tuesday that Latin American countries must address regulatory barriers, improve electric interconnection and enhance project structuring for renewable energy to attract the $200 billion investment needed annually to make the energy transformation a reality. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) organized an event in Colombia’s capital Bogota, where executives spoke. Why it's important Energy infrastructure investments in the region are below global averages. This could make it difficult for it to achieve its climate and energy targets. KEY QUOTES Felix Fernandez is the Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of...

Environment

Indigenous groups ask Chilean court to stop community review of Codelco/SQM lithium deal

According to documents reviewed by, two indigenous groups in northern Chile asked a local judge to suspend the state-led process of community review that was required to approve a partnership between copper miner Codelco and lithium mining company SQM. Last week, the Indigenous community of Coyo and Atacameno Association of Irrigators and Farmers of San Pedro de Atacama filed separate legal challenges with the Chilean Appeal Court in the Antofagasta Region. They accused the Chilean Economic Development Agency Corfo of failing to properly conduct a consultation process for their input regarding the partnership. This is the last condition for the...

Environment

Human hair is a water-saving device in Chile, a country that has been hit by drought.

The small mats of hair at the base of the plants help to lock in moisture in orchards in Chile, which have suffered from drought for many years. According to the Matter of Trust Chile Foundation, who makes the mats, the hair is turned into sheets or discs of compostable mulch through mechanical weaving. This reduces direct evaporation of up to 71%, and can save as much as 48% of irrigation. "Hair is interesting. "Hair is very interesting. Maria Salazar, a farmer in Taltal in the arid Antofagasta Region of Chile, said that the hair had helped her get optimum...

Environment

Growing lettuce with fog in Chile's Atacama desert, the world's driest.

Researchers and growers in Chile's Atacama desert, the driest place on earth, are trying to capture moisture from fog to grow lemons and lettuces. They use a net that catches the drops. Near Chanaral, in the Atacama desert, where there are areas that have not seen rain for years, Orlando Rojas told reporters, "We grow hydroponic lettuce completely with fog water." "We've tried other crops and they didn't work, so we tended to do lettuce." Researchers at the UC Atacama Desert Center have launched a web-based mapping tool that allows anyone to see the locations of areas in the country...

Environment

The UN honors South America's camelids as heroes of the high plateau

Llamas and alpacas are being celebrated as the heroes of South America's high plateaus because they have adapted to harsh climates and environments, and their value is cultural, economic, and ecological. Early May, representatives from Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador met in Antofagasta, a city in northern Chile, to celebrate animals and improve management strategies. The meeting was sponsored by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Andres Gonzales, regional officer of Animal Health and Production for the FAO said that these animals were considered heroes because they thrived in harsh environments like the high plateau. They have a natural toughness that...

Environment

The dwindling glaciers are putting the Patagonian Ice Dragon, a resilient insect of Chile, at risk.

The Patagonian Ice Dragon of Chile is a tiny, but mighty insect. It lives in frozen glaciers and feeds on algae and bacteria. It is now an endangered species due to global warming, which is accelerating the loss of glaciers. Maribet Gamboa is a researcher from Chile's UCSC University. She leads a study aimed at conserving the Patagonian dragon, and the glaciers that it lives in. The research is aimed at understanding the Patagonian Dragon and the glacier. Gamboa added that scientists had taken samples of the insect in order to determine the genes which have been adapted to the...

Natural Gas Utilities

Chile fines Italy's Enel $19 million over 2024 power outages

The Chilean government fined Italian electrical energy supplier Enel's regional system $19 million on Wednesday over prolonged power interruptions in 2024. In a statement, the federal government stated it was fining the company over four violations after heavy storms at the end of the Southern Hemisphere winter season last August caused extended power outages, in many cases lasting more than 15 days. Chile's SEC electrical regulator stated the company failed to correctly preserve its facilities, took too long to restore power, stopped working to turn over details to the federal government and did not have an appropriate system to get...

Pollution

Chile's uncommon salt flat fish deals with threat from lithium mining project

At more than 3,700 meters (12,000 feet) above water level, the karachi. swims happily in thick salt flat waters, however residents worry a. future lithium task will threaten this extremeenvironment. fish. The Orestias ascotanensis is a little ray-finned fish that. grows to simply 7.5 centimeters (3 inches), however has actually adjusted to the. Ascotan salt flat's high concentrations of heavy metals and. variable salinity. The salt flat likewise sees high solar radiation and temperature level. variations that reach 26 Celsius (79 Fahrenheit) throughout the day. and below freezing in the evening, according to Marco Mendez, a. teacher at the University...

Electric Utilities

Enel cautious on US photovoltaic panel project, committed to Brazil grids

Italy's Enel has grown mindful on a solar panel project in the United States, however is committed to invest to keep its concessions in Brazil and Chile, the utility's chief executive stated on Monday. Presenting the group's upgraded three-year technique to 2027, Enel's CEO Flavio Cattaneo said the business would push ahead with a strategy to develop a photovoltaic panel factory in Oklahoma only if it discovers a U.S. investor all set to take most of the task. If a U.S. financier does not believes in it, why ought to I do it? Cattaneo stated. The task announced by previous...

Environment

Chile government readying bond to incentivize future preservation

Chile's federal government has actually created a new bond to encourage the South American nation to safeguard nature and guard conservation efforts from future modifications of government, Environment Minister Maisa Rojas stated on Tuesday. The bond structure, developed with Chile's finance ministry, consists of goals for preservation that could lead to financial penalties if they are not satisfied, Rojas told Reuters on the sidelines of the United Nations COP 16 biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia. It suggests that the country has a dedication due to the fact that we don't. wish to pay charges, Rojas said, adding that future financing....

Mining

Mining

Chile's Corfo agency prepares lithium contracts in advance of SQM and Codelco deal

Corfo, the Chilean agency for economic development, announced on Monday that it had submitted to the comptroller’s office terms of a modified leasing agreement with lithium producer SQM until 2030 and a new lease 2031-2060 for a joint-venture between SQM ad state copper producer Codelco. SQM is expected to complete a partnership with Codelco this year on the Atacama Salt Flat in northern Chile, which will be the first significant foray of the state into lithium production. Corfo, the company that leases mining rights on the Atacama flats, announced in a press release that the board of directors approved the...

Mining

Chile's Codelco lowers its production forecast and posts a pre-tax profit decline

Codelco Chile, the world’s largest copper producer and the country’s biggest exporter, lowered Friday its production guidance for 2025 following an accident in its flagship El Teniente Mine, as well as reporting lower pre-tax profits in the first six months of the year. The miner expects to produce 1,34-1,37 million metric tonnes of copper in 2025. This is down from the March estimate of 1,37-1,40 million tons. Codelco’s production hit a quarter century low in 2023. The company has struggled to compensate for old deposits and delays with major expansion projects. The accident that occurred on July 31, at El...

Mining

The Lithium Rally promises a breather to struggling Australian miners

Sources and analysts say that the recent rise in lithium prices may ease pressure on producers in Australia who are struggling to reduce their exposure to battery materials, causing them to abandon plans to sell certain projects. The shares of Australia's lithium mining companies have increased by up to a third in the past month. They also extended their gains this week, after news that China had cut back on its supply sparked hope for a turnaround. This follows years of falling prices due to slower sales than expected. Lithium companies were forced to close down operations, and in recent...

Mineral Resources

Climate Change

Climate Change

Chile takes new measures to save the endangered Darwin's Frog

Chile has launched an effort to save Darwin's Frogs, tiny amphibians with leaf-like skin. The males of these amphibians carry tadpoles in pouches inside their mouths. The Climate Change and Sustainability Committee of the Chilean Government has launched an initiative to protect habitats, reproductive areas and working with private landowners. The goal of the project is to find new populations and, if feasible, increase the size of current populations. Originally thought to be one species, the frog actually consists of two species: the endangered Rhinoderma darwinii, also known as the Southern Darwin's Frog, and the Rhinoderma darwinii, or Northern Darwin's...

Climate Change

Mining and warming waters are threatening Chile's underwater forests

Underwater forests teem with life in the icy waters off Chile's northern coast. Red and green towers of seaweed rise from the ocean floor. They provide food for wildlife and income for the locals, as well as oxygen and carbon for the planet. Scientists believe that these forests have even greater potential for sustainable food, protein and other materials, despite the fact that they are threatened due to human pollution and warming oceans. "They form a band along the coastal edge, which is essentially an armour of protection and biodiversity," said Alejandra González, a marine scientist from the University of...

Climate Change

U.N.: Global temperatures are increasing and melting glaciers around the world.

According to a report by UNESCO released on Friday, glaciers are disappearing more quickly than ever. The last three years saw the greatest loss of mass on record. Michael Zemp of the Switzerland-based World Glacier Monitoring Service said that the 9,000 gigatons (or a quarter of a million tons) of ice lost by glaciers since 1975 is roughly equivalent to an ice block as large as Germany and with a thickness of 25 meters. This was revealed at a Geneva press conference to announce the report. Climate change caused by fossil fuels will likely cause global temperatures to rise, accelerating...

Climate Change

Chile orders Lundin copper mine to close after massive sinkhole

The environmental regulator of Chile said that Canadian mining company Lundin will have to permanently close the Alcaparrosa Copper Mine in Chile after a sinkhole opened up near the mine in 2022. Lundin had stopped work on the site when a sinkhole of more than 60 meters in depth opened up in the Tierra Amarilla Village in northern Chile. However, it had pushed for the restarting of mining at Alcaparrosa. The SMA regulator in Chile said that they had determined that Lundin is responsible for the sinkhole and that the company must close the mine. They also fined the company...

Climate Change

Back from the edge of extinction, Chilean frogs start journey home

storyp1> SANTIAGO, Oct 17 (Reuters) Sandwiched between wet towels in temperaturemonitored containers, a dozen seriously threatened Loa water frogs were flown from Santiago to Calama previously this month, the initial step conservationists have actually required to return the amphibians to their natural environment in a river that runs through the world's driest desert. The frogs were on the verge of termination in 2019 after water extraction from mining, farming and development, worsened by environment modification, annihilated their habitat. Researchers had the ability to save the remaining malnourished and sickly frogs, transferring 60 and carrying 14 to the Parquemet Zoo in...

Pollution

Why are NDCs crucial in international environment talks?

On the planet's struggle to halt and reverse climate modification, nations regularly report on their strategies and development in lowering national levels of planetwarming carbon emissions. These strategies are called Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs for brief. WHAT IS AN NDC? A nation's NDC explains its national policies or decisions toward reaching net-zero emissions, and was upgraded every five years until delegates at the 2021 U.N. climate top, COP26, in Glasgow called for more regular updates every couple of years. Altogether, these reports help nations collaborate their environment policies action with one another. More right away, they can tell us...

Climate Change

Rocket scientists build robot probes to gauge melting below Antarctica ice shelf

Engineers who specialize in building NASA spacecraft to check out remote worlds are designing a fleet of undersea robotic probes to measure how rapidly environment modification is melting huge ice sheets around Antarctica and what that implies for rising sea levels. A prototype of the submersible automobiles, under advancement by NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab near Los Angeles, was evaluated from a U.S. Navy laboratory camp in the Arctic, where it was released beneath the frozen Beaufort Sea north of Alaska in March. These robotics are a platform to bring science instruments to the hardest-to-reach places on Earth, Paul Glick, a...

Climate Change

Chile's capital sees first rainless July on record

Not a single drop of rain fell in Santiago or Chile's metropolitan area this July for the very first time considering that records have been kept. Alicia Moya, a meteorologist for Chile's government, said that several meteorological stations across the metropolitan area had actually registered no millimeters of rainfall and others around the nation had actually registered record-low readings. This hasn't occurred since the 1950s, which is when we have records, Moya said, adding that the unusually dry July is unusual throughout the austral winter. Chile has actually been suffering a destructive dry spell for more than a years and...

Pollution

Chile's Humboldt penguins could face termination as population plummets

The Humboldt penguin population has actually significantly decreased in locations along the main coast of Chile, making them among the most vulnerable of the world's 18 penguin species and putting them at risk of termination, specialists caution. Last year, scientists surveyed 2 islands off the central Chilean coast and found 842 breeding pairs or active nests. This year they found simply one reproducing set. Paulina Arce, a vet who specializes in penguins, says that penguin populations in all islands surveyed reduced or stayed the very same. This could result in a lot more drastic situation, which might be the extinction...

Climate Change

Chile's capital deals with fiercest cold snap in decades

Chileans are wrapping with more clothing and clutching cups of hot coffee as the nation deals with the most intense cold wave in nearly 70 years, bringing winter season weather condition in the middle of fall. Given that 1950, that is, in the last 74 years, we had actually not had a. cold wave as intense as the current one in May, climatologist. at the University of Santiago, Raul Cordero, told . So we remain in the presence of the longest cold wave ever. taped in the capital, a minimum of considering that 1950 for fall. For Thursday, the meteorological...

Climate Change

South America weather professionals see La Nina, El Nino frequency rising

The environment phenomena known as El Nino and La Nina, which bring waves of heat, cold, rain or drought, will be more regular and extreme in coming years, after South America suffered the most extreme El Nino in decades, weather professionals said on Thursday. According to the Ecuador-based International Center for Research study on the El Nino Phenomenon (CIIFEN) and the Peruvian meteorology and hydrology company SENAMHI, the current El Nino was among the 5 greatest because 1950. The pattern has actually changed a lot, stated Yolanda Gonzalez Hernandez, director of CIIFEN, at a press conference after a. meeting of...

Climate Change

Latin America need to brace as El Nino flips to La Nina, specialists caution

Latin American countries must be on high alert as the weather condition phenomenon called El Nino rapidly switch to La Nina, experts stated on Thursday, leaving populations and crops little time to recuperate. El Nino and its plentiful rains could quickly turn into dry spells caused by La Nina along with an extreme cyclone season across South America, specialists said at a panel arranged by the United Countries' Food and Farming Organization (FAO). The full weather condition pattern including El Nino, La Nina and a. neutral phase typically lasts in between two to seven years. However. professionals stated that the...