The ruling must be exemplary to mining companies and that fines tend to be insignificant and that we are going to go all the way with consequences, not just fine, according to Marcela Hernando, mining minister.
Chilean authorities have not provided any details of the investigation into the cause of the sinkhole.
Local and foreign media showed various aerial images of the huge hole in a field near the Lundin Mining operation, about 665 kilometers 413 miles north of the Chilean capital. The hole, near the town of Tierra Amarilla, measured about 25 meters 82 feet across, with water visible at the bottom.
The Canadian firm owns 80% of the property, while the remaining 20% is in the hands of Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd and Sumitomo Corp. The minister said that although the country's mining regulators had carried out an inspection in July, it was not able to detect the over-exploitation. She said that it makes us think that we have to reformulate what our inspection processes are. Lundin said that the over-exploitation referred to by the minister had been duly reported. We want to emphasize that this hypothesis, as reported by Sernageomin, has not been determined as the direct cause of the sinkhole. The hydrogeological and mining studies will provide the answers we are looking for today, Lundin said. Lundin said that different events that could have caused the sinkhole are being investigated, including the abnormal rainfall recorded during the month of July.