A Chilean environmental court in Antofagasta unanimously voted to demand a regional assessment commission to re-evaluate an Andes Iron’s impact study for its $2.5 billion iron ore project, according to a media report by Reuters.
The $2.5 billion project known as Dominga, which aims to produce up to 12 million mt of iron ore per year, has suffered a number of setbacks and is pending court approval. The Antofagasta environmental commission tossed out an earlier decision that denied Andes Iron to get key permits. As previously reported by SteelOrbis, Andes Iron expected to commence construction works in the site this year.
Due to a number of setbacks, Andes Iron admitted it would give up a port it expected to develop near the proposed Dominga mine, so it could move on the iron ore project. Local environmental regulator SEA was the first to reject the project in March 2017. Then, a Coquimbo’s environment commission also banned it. 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.