World’s top copper producer closes smelter in ‘Chile’s Chernobyl’
By AFP
Published May 31, 2023
More than 100 people, mostly school children, suffered sulfur dioxide poisoning in an area near the Codelco smelter in 2022 - Copyright AFP Pablo VERA
Chile’s state-owned Codelco copper company, the world’s top producer of the metal, closed its Ventanas smelter Wednesday in an area dubbed “Chile’s Chernobyl” for the grim environmental impact of heavy industry.
The smelter’s operational boss Pablo Bohler symbolically gave the order for the shutdown after six decades of operation in an area that also hosts plants and factories of more than a dozen other companies.
Codelco’s nearby copper refinery will remain operational.
Codelco announced it would close the Ventanas smelter after an incident in June last year when more than 100 people, mostly schoolchildren, suffered sulfur dioxide poisoning in the area around Quintero and Puchuncavi — two coastal towns that are home to some 50,000 people.
It had been the second such incident in three days.
Quintero and Puchuncavi have been deemed “sacrifice zones” since 1958, when the Chilean government converted what had been a fishing and farming community into an industrial hub.
The area now hosts four coal-fired power stations as well as oil and copper refineries.
Greenpeace described the area around the Ventanas plant as “Chile’s Chernobyl” following a serious incident in 2018 when around 600 people were treated for symptoms such as vomiting blood, headaches, dizziness and paralysis of the extremities.
“Today the furnaces of the smelter are extinguished, but not the conviction of building a fairer Chile in which all inhabitants have the right to live their lives” in safety, President Gabriel Boric said Wednesday.
Some of the smelter’s 766 workers will be moved to other jobs, while the rest will leave Codelco under a severance deal with the company that supplies eight percent of the world’s copper.
Last year, Chile’s environmental superintendent ordered six companies operating in the area to “limit their productive activity, without harming the primary supply” and instructed that measures be taken to reduce pollution from Codelco operations.
By AFP
Published May 31, 2023
More than 100 people, mostly school children, suffered sulfur dioxide poisoning in an area near the Codelco smelter in 2022 - Copyright AFP Pablo VERA
Chile’s state-owned Codelco copper company, the world’s top producer of the metal, closed its Ventanas smelter Wednesday in an area dubbed “Chile’s Chernobyl” for the grim environmental impact of heavy industry.
The smelter’s operational boss Pablo Bohler symbolically gave the order for the shutdown after six decades of operation in an area that also hosts plants and factories of more than a dozen other companies.
Codelco’s nearby copper refinery will remain operational.
Codelco announced it would close the Ventanas smelter after an incident in June last year when more than 100 people, mostly schoolchildren, suffered sulfur dioxide poisoning in the area around Quintero and Puchuncavi — two coastal towns that are home to some 50,000 people.
It had been the second such incident in three days.
Quintero and Puchuncavi have been deemed “sacrifice zones” since 1958, when the Chilean government converted what had been a fishing and farming community into an industrial hub.
The area now hosts four coal-fired power stations as well as oil and copper refineries.
Greenpeace described the area around the Ventanas plant as “Chile’s Chernobyl” following a serious incident in 2018 when around 600 people were treated for symptoms such as vomiting blood, headaches, dizziness and paralysis of the extremities.
“Today the furnaces of the smelter are extinguished, but not the conviction of building a fairer Chile in which all inhabitants have the right to live their lives” in safety, President Gabriel Boric said Wednesday.
Some of the smelter’s 766 workers will be moved to other jobs, while the rest will leave Codelco under a severance deal with the company that supplies eight percent of the world’s copper.
Last year, Chile’s environmental superintendent ordered six companies operating in the area to “limit their productive activity, without harming the primary supply” and instructed that measures be taken to reduce pollution from Codelco operations.
Codelco shuts Ventanas smelter in move towards sustainable mining
Reuters | May 31, 2023 |
The Ventanas smelter and refinery. (Image courtesy of Codelco).
Chile’s state-owned Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, on Wednesday closed its Ventanas metal smelter in the country’s central coast, following environmental incidents in the region that tainted its operations.
The mining company decided last year to shut down the facility in the town of Quintero, located some 108 kilometers (67 miles) northwest of the capital, after authorities declared an environmental emergency due to pollution that left dozens suffering from symptoms of sulfur dioxide emission poisoning.
“The transformation of the Ventanas division is clear evidence that this corporation is moving decisively towards more sustainable mining,” said Maximo Pacheco, chairman of the board, during the event for the unit’s closing.
Codelco has stated that its shifting to produce more sustainable copper to meet growing environmental demands from both buyers and the Chilean government.
Authorities did not directly attribute the incident to Codelco’s smelter. More than a dozen large businesses, including fossil fuel, cement and electricity companies, operate in the area.
Environmentalists have called Quintero and its surroundings a “sacrifice zone” for repeated pollution incidents that have caused public health emergencies.
Codelco halted work in the smelter last year while it completed the legal process to close it, which required applying some operational adjustments indicated by the environmental regulator.
Union workers initially opposed the closure but later reached an agreement with the firm. More than half of the workforce accepted a voluntary retirement plan.
(By Fabian Andres Cambero; Editing by John Stonestreet and Marguerita Choy)
Reuters | May 31, 2023 |
The Ventanas smelter and refinery. (Image courtesy of Codelco).
Chile’s state-owned Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, on Wednesday closed its Ventanas metal smelter in the country’s central coast, following environmental incidents in the region that tainted its operations.
The mining company decided last year to shut down the facility in the town of Quintero, located some 108 kilometers (67 miles) northwest of the capital, after authorities declared an environmental emergency due to pollution that left dozens suffering from symptoms of sulfur dioxide emission poisoning.
“The transformation of the Ventanas division is clear evidence that this corporation is moving decisively towards more sustainable mining,” said Maximo Pacheco, chairman of the board, during the event for the unit’s closing.
Codelco has stated that its shifting to produce more sustainable copper to meet growing environmental demands from both buyers and the Chilean government.
Authorities did not directly attribute the incident to Codelco’s smelter. More than a dozen large businesses, including fossil fuel, cement and electricity companies, operate in the area.
Environmentalists have called Quintero and its surroundings a “sacrifice zone” for repeated pollution incidents that have caused public health emergencies.
Codelco halted work in the smelter last year while it completed the legal process to close it, which required applying some operational adjustments indicated by the environmental regulator.
Union workers initially opposed the closure but later reached an agreement with the firm. More than half of the workforce accepted a voluntary retirement plan.
(By Fabian Andres Cambero; Editing by John Stonestreet and Marguerita Choy)
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