June 9, according to foreign media reports, an environmental court in Chile issued a stoppage order on Thursday that will prevent Canadian mining company Lundin from reopening its Alcaparrosa copper mine, which was closed nearly a year ago due to sinkholes in nearby villages.
The environmental tribunal said the temporary stoppage was at the request of the Chilean Defense Council (CDE), which had filed a complaint with the courts. The shutdown is likely to last until the end of the trial.
The CDE lawsuit accuses Lundin and its subsidiaries of causing environmental damage by creating a 118-foot-wide (36-meter-wide) sinkhole in the village of Tierra Amarilla in northern Chile.
In a statement on Thursday, Lundin said the Environment Tribunal’s reasoning was “incomplete” and argued the lawsuit could damage its business while an appeal is considered.