Vancouver-based Los Andes Copper retaliates against local official and scientist challenging its proposed Vizcachitas project.

Vancouver-based Los Andes Copper, developer of the proposed Vizcachitas copper-molybdenum mine in Chile’s Valparaíso region, has launched an aggressive campaign targeting the municipality of Putaendo’s mayor, Mauricio Quiroz, and local biologist Arón Cádiz-Véliz. The company is pressing legal and media challenges against them for opposing the mine and leading scientific efforts to protect the area.

The conflict centres on a report and technical study commissioned by the municipality, aimed at designating the Rocín River Valley—a high-altitude ecosystem with glaciers, wetlands, and endemic species—as a protected area. Los Andes Copper has sought to discredit both the study and the officials behind it, framing opposition as a challenge to its commercial activities and environmental credentials.

Cádiz-Véliz, a PhD student at the University of Concepción, says the research is purely scientific. “All we are doing is conducting a scientific investigation,” he said. “The more we study the Putaendo mountain range, the more evident the need to protect it becomes: we are discovering and describing new species for science, which could disappear if the Vizcachitas mining project were to go ahead.

“It seems that doing science can become an obstacle to these projects, because the more we learn about the territories in which the company intends to intervene, the more information becomes available against their initiatives.”

Los Andes Copper’s flagship Vizcachitas project has been marketed as “Chile’s next major copper mine” and framed as contributing to the “green transition” and the fight against climate change. The mine is projected to have an initial 26-year lifespan, producing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of copper annually along with significant quantities of molybdenum and silver. Company statements describe Vizcachitas as a “Tier 1” asset in Chile’s central copper belt, capable of becoming one of the country’s largest and most profitable copper mines.

There are more than 40 Canadian mining companies currently operating in Chile, overseeing more than 100 mines and projects across the country. Canadian firms have been active there since the early 1990s, investing heavily in copper, lithium, and other strategic minerals as part of a broader global rush for resources tied to the energy transition.

Copper and other critical minerals are in growing demand for renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles. Chile, the world’s largest copper producer and second-largest lithium producer, has become a central node in this resource scramble, attracting foreign investment and putting local communities on the frontlines of extractive conflicts.

Communities impacted by this dash for critical minerals, however, remain staunchly opposed to the project as they fight to ensure the survival of a unique Andean ecosystem.

In May 2024 the company launched a complaint against the municipality of Putaendo, where Mr. Quiroz serves as mayor, before Chile’s Court of Public Procurement, alleging irregular use of municipal resources and irregular awarding of contracts. While the complaint was rejected in July, Los Andes Copper has indicated it intends to appeal the decision.

Read the full article on Canadian Dimension.