Andes Iron, a Chilean iron ore and copper producer, has named a new chief executive, according to a media report from Diario Financiero. Pedro Ducci assumed on January 1 the position of the company’s CEO, replacing Ivan Garrido, who was leading the company’s Dominga iron ore project.
A media report by La Tercera noted the move was due to Garrido’s view on how the company should move forward with a banned $2.5 billion iron ore project.
The Dominga iron ore project aims to produce up to 12 million mt of iron ore per year. Local environmental regulator SEA was the first reject the project in March 2017, followed by a ban from Coquimbo’s environmental commission.
In August 2017, a minister council maintained the project ban. Since then, Andes Iron had been appealing the case. In May 2018, an environmental court ordered the project to be re-evaluated. Then, a Chilean not-for-profit (NGO) organization asked for another ban of the project. Chile’s TC denied the NGO request. Andes Iron has been appealing all decisions in a move to get the project back on track.
“Due to the challenges the Dominga project has faced during its environmental (processing) phase, I’ve fought for alternatives and strategies on how to continue the project, which weren’t supported by the company’s board,” Garrido told La Tercera.