- Estados Unidos - Chile:23 de Diciembre de 2017
Gobierno de Trump renueva licencia minera a filial de Antofagasta PLC junto a valiosa área silvestre protegida
El Gobierno de EE.UU., presidido por Donald Trump, renovará las licencias para la minería de cobre y níquel cerca de un refugio salvaje en Minesota, en una marcha atrás en la regulación medioambiental impulsada por la Administración previa de Barack Obama, informó hoy el Departamento del Interior.
- La medida permitirá dar vía libre a los planes de la empresa Twin Metals Minnesota, una filial del gigante minero chileno Antofagasta PLC, controlado por la familia del multimillonario Andronico Luksic.
Vista del Lago Gunflint junto al área silvestre Boundary Waters Canoe (Karen Samelson / McClatchy-Tribune)
La empresa había presentado un proyecto de explotación minera de cobre y níquel justo al lado del refugio medioambiental Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, un área de 450.000 kilómetros cuadrados de lagos y bosques en el norte de Minesota, cerca de la frontera con Canadá, y protegida desde 1926.
Sin embargo, el Gobierno de Obama había paralizado dos años atrás los planes por el riesgo de "graves e irreparables daño a este área de fauna salvaje único, irreemplazable e icónica".
La prensa estadounidense ha destacado que precisamente Luksic es quien alquila la casa a la hija de Trump, Ivanka, y su esposo, Jared Kushner, por 15.000 dólares al mes.
Ambos trabajan como asesores presidenciales de Trump en la Casa Blanca.
Preguntado por la cuestión, un funcionario del Gobierno estadounidense, que solicitó el anonimato, aseguró que "ni la señora Trump ni el señor Trump estaban al tanto de la situación, no tienen nada que ver con ella, y nunca han conocido a su casero".
En un comunicado, Twin Metals Minnesota se mostró satisfecha por la decisión, que calificó como "un importante paso para asegurar la certidumbre de las inversiones en proyectos mineros en EE.UU. y reafirmar los derechos de propiedad y el estado de Derecho".
Esta zona cuenta con una de las mayores reservas mundiales no explotadas de cobre y níquel del mundo, indicó la empresa al presentar el proyecto, con un valor estimado de 40.000 millones de dólares.
Twin Metals Minnesota promete invertir más de 2.800 millones de dólares y generar 650 empleos directos.
Desde su llegada a la Casa Blanca en enero, Trump ha revertido numerosas regulaciones de Obama y prometido devolver la pujanza al sector minero y energético de EE.UU., que considera asfixiado por el exceso celo de su predecesor en materia medioambiental.
EFE
Trump administration renews mining leases near Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area
The Trump administration moved Friday to renew leases for a copper and nickel mining operation on the border of Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, reversing a decision made in the final weeks of Barack Obama's tenure in office.
The decision, made public Friday in an Interior Department legal decision, marks a win for the Chilean mining firm belonging to the family of billionaire Andronico Luksic, who rents a home to Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, in Washington.
In December of last year, the Interior Department and U.S. Forest Service decided not to renew the leases while federal officials launched a formal review of the operation's environmental impact. Reversing that decision has been the subject of intense lobbying since President Donald Trump took office. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke met with proponents of Twin Metals Minnesota, a subsidiary of the Chilean mining giant Antofagasta PLC, shortly after taking office.
The two expired leases, which span 4,800 acres and date to 1966, lie on the southwest border of the 1.1 million-acre wilderness area. The federal government had been studying whether all mining activities in 234,000 acres abutting the wilderness should be barred for the next 20 years.
The 19-page decision issued Friday by Interior Principal Deputy Solicitor Daniel Jorjani said the previous administration's order "improperly interpreted the leases and is withdrawn." Twin Metals Minnesota, he wrote, has a "non-discretionary right to a third renewal."
Rather than announcing the decision in a release, aides from Interior's solicitor office notified Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt, a Republican, who made the news public. "It's refreshing to have an administration that understands the importance of mining to Minnesota - and the entire United States," Daudt said in a statement.
The mining operation is backed by many state Republicans and at least one Democrat, Rep. Rick Nolan, but is opposed by Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and the state's two U.S. senators.
As recently as Thursday, Zinke had told Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., that he was committed to protecting the area. Late Friday, McCollum accused Zinke of deliberately misleading her in their latest call.
"He reiterated to me directly just how precious the waters of the BWCA are and the need for ongoing environmental study," McCollum said in a statement. "Twenty-four hours later, he broke his word and issued mining leases footsteps from the BWCA to a foreign-owned mining company. Clearly, the numerous assurances I received from Secretary Zinke about protecting the BWCA were worthless and deceitful."
Doug Niemela, national campaign manager for the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, said in a statement that the move ran contrary to the will of Minnesota residents. During last year's public comment period, more than 74,000 people urged the Forest Service to deny the leases' renewal.
"The Interior Department's decision is a big fat Christmas gift for a giant foreign mining corporation willing to do anything to exploit the watershed of Minnesota's crown jewel wilderness," Niemela said. "It runs contrary to fact, contrary to the law, and contrary to the views of Minnesota voters who love the Boundary Waters and rely on it for thousands of jobs, world-class hunting and fishing, and some of the cleanest water on Earth. We plan to challenge this illegal decision in court."
Luksic - who has tweeted that there is no connection between Antofagasta's business and his real estate relationship with Ivanka Trump and Kushner - rents the couple a six-bedroom home he owns in the affluent Kalorama neighborhood. The two serve as advisers to the president.
A White House official said in an email Saturday that the couple were "not aware of the situation, had nothing to do with it and have never met their landlord."
Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post
Fuente:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/midwest/ct-minnesota-boundary-waters-mining-20171223-story.html4187
