Quinzio LPC Achieves Victory in the Supreme Court Regarding Protection Remedies Filed by Indigenous Communities Against the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Relevance Consultation for the Altazor Mining Exploration Project

On August 16, 2024 the Supreme Court confirmed the ruling of the Antofagasta Court of Appeals on the appeal filed by the indigenous Atacama communities of Socaire and Peine against Minera Mirasol Limitada and the Antofagasta Environmental Evaluation Service (SEA).

The action was brought against the Exempt Resolution dated April 2, 2024, issued by the SEA regarding a Relevance Consultation for entering the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, presented by the developer of the Altazor project. The resolution concluded that the Altazor mining project, which includes four platforms with their respective drilling in the high-altitude area of the "Cordón de Purichari" in the Antofagasta region, was not required to undergo the EIA prior to its execution.

The Antofagasta Court of Appeals rejected the protection remedy, stating that a Relevance Consultation is a voluntary procedure that ends in an administrative act by the SEA, which does not have the legal nature of an 'operating authorization', but rather represents the institution's opinion regarding whether a project must obligatorily enter the EIA process. Therefore, this administrative act cannot be considered as violating a fundamental right.