Committee of Ministers admits claim against Codelco Andina's EIA

The Committee of Ministers has admitted for processing a claim filed by an observer against the favorable qualification of the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) for the project “Water pumping system for industrial use from Ovejería Tailings Storage Facility to the Division Andina Concentrator Plant,” owned by the National Copper Corporation of Chile - Division Andina. The decision is contained in exempt resolution No. 202699101856, dated September 23, 2026, and was notified in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile No. 44,564, Friday, October 2, 2026, Section I, page 1, under reference CVE 2879768.

The notification was carried out in accordance with Article 55 of Law No. 19,880, which establishes the Bases of Administrative Procedures Governing the Acts of State Administration Bodies, and is addressed to the observers of the citizen participation process carried out within the context of the project’s environmental evaluation. The act was signed by Arturo Farías Alcaíno, Executive Director of the Environmental Evaluation Service (SEA), in his capacity as Secretary of the Committee of Ministers.

The appeal is directed against exempt resolution No. 20269900127, dated July 23, 2026, from the Executive Director of the SEA, which favorably qualified the project’s EIS. With the admission for processing, the claim file is formally open before the Committee of Ministers, the body that must rule on the challenges presented by the citizenry.

What the Committee of Ministers resolved

• Admission for processing of the claim filed by an observer of the citizen participation process.
• Resolution providing admission: exempt No. 202699101856, dated September 23, 2026.
• Challenged act: exempt resolution No. 20269900127, dated July 23, 2026, from the Executive Director of the SEA.
• Project owner: National Copper Corporation of Chile - Division Andina.
• Project: “Water pumping system for industrial use from Ovejería Tailings Storage Facility to the Division Andina Concentrator Plant”.
• Environmental instrument: Environmental Impact Study (EIS).

Where to consult the full text

The published extract specifies two ways to access the full text of the resolution:

• Environmental Evaluation Service, Executive Directorate, Huérfanos No. 670, floors 13 to 16, Santiago.
• Website www.sea.gob.cl, at the link https://firma.sea.gob.cl/publicaciones/2026/09/23/1790207648_2169664160.

Institutional framework of the procedure

The Committee of Ministers is the body before which the claim is processed, and the Executive Director of the SEA acts as its secretary, as stated in the notification itself. Publication in the Official Gazette serves as official notification to the observers who participated in the environmental assessment process, such that the claim procedure is open and the deadlines are running for the parties.

The document bears the advanced electronic signature of Arturo Farías Alcaíno and was disseminated under the editorial direction of Giovanni Calderón Bassi, director of the Official Gazette. This is an extract; therefore, the details of the claimant’s arguments and the processing must be consulted in the full text of exempt resolution No. 202699101856.

The admission for processing reopens the environmental debate on a strategic project for the operational continuity of División Andina and formally gives course to the citizen observations presented during the assessment. The ruling of the Committee of Ministers may confirm, modify, or nullify the favorable qualification of the EIA, with direct effects on the holder and on the communities surrounding the Ovejería tailings deposit.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,564, October 2, 2026, Section I, p. 1 (official reference: CVE 2879768).