After the alert raised by the Association of Shrimp Farmers and the Aymara Indigenous Community of Umirpa for the admissibility of the entry into the Environmental Assessment System of the Environmental Impact Statement of the “Sofia” project (Canadian company Andex Minerals Chile SpA) in the sector from the mallku Anocarire, different socio-environmental organizations expressed their rejection of the mining initiative.
“Our sacred hill mallku Anocarire represents for the Andean community its essence and spirituality, which has been worshiped since time immemorial,” the ranchers and the community said in a statement.
Next, they stated that the aforementioned mining company “represents a threat to biodiversity, to the inhabitants who remain there in their traditional occupation, to water resources, flora, fauna, archaeological remains, to the practice of camelid livestock, economic sustenance of Andean families.
“Likewise,” they added, “it violates the international rights norms of indigenous peoples ratified by Chile, such as ILO Convention 169, the United Nations declaration, the Covenant on International Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination and finally, the Escazú agreement”.
Regarding this last treaty, they recalled that “it comes to reinforce the rights to consultation, access to information and access to justice in environmental matters, against extractive companies that are susceptible to producing environmental impacts on indigenous communities.”
For this reason, they called on the “authorities, parliamentarians, senators, environmental organizations and the community in general of the Arica and Parinacota Region and the country, to support and prevent this project from being carried out.”
Organizations come to support
In response to the call of the community and ranchers, the socio-environmental organizations of Arica and Parinacota: Belén says NO to mining, Wila Pacha, Modatima Arica and Parinacota, NGO Arica Unidos por el Mar, Planeta Verde, Aymara Coordinator for the Defense of Resources Natives of Arica Parinacota, Friday For Future Arica and Aka Pacha Foundation, joined the alert with a public statement, where they expressed their strong opposition to the Sofia project.
“As an anti-extractivist movement in the territory, we categorically reject this new attempt by Andex Minerals Chile SpA to attack the good living of the Aymara and Quechua people in the area. We join the call of the Association of Shrimp Farmers and the Indigenous Community of Umirpa in defense of the sacred mallku Anocarire, and we will not back down in the face of extractive business greed,” they said.
What is the Sofia project?
The Sofia project consists, according to the Environmental Impact Assessment Service, SEIA, “in the execution of 12 reverse air or diamond drilling on 9 platforms (5 existing and 4 new) over a period of approximately 2 years, in a area of approximately 2,400 hectares of available mining concessions, located in the Anocarire sector, in the communes of Putre and Camarones, provinces of Parinacota and Arica, respectively, region of Arica and Parinacota”.
Additionally, and as permanent works, “Sofía” considers “the fitting out of 50 meters of access roads, 1 sample collection unit, 18 mud pools (2 by platforms), the adaptation of an area for the fitting out of facilities support for the operation and expansion of the existing camp.”
It is worth mentioning that the mining company already tried to explore this sector with the “Anocarire” project, which was paralyzed by order of the Supreme Court (case 42,563 -2021), after the presentation of a protection appeal by the Umirpa Indigenous Community.
On that occasion, the international company, by 2018, had already carried out 17 drilling, drilling 1,614 meters in search of gold and silver in the sacred mallku.
Meanwhile, in 2021 it carried out five new drillings, owning nine exploration and exploitation concessions granted by Sernageomin, covering the entire Anocarire, a sector that makes up the Las Vicuñas National Reserve and the Lauca Biosphere Reserve, in addition to being the Development Area Indigenous (ADI) High Andean Arica and Parinacota.
More project information HERE (SEIA)
information via Radio Ayni
Keep reading on this topic: Impact of mining explorations on the sacred hill Anukarire in Camarones