Chilean environmental groups protest Dominga mining project

Environmental and social organizations held demonstrations in Santiago and 17 other cities across Chile to protest the potential reactivation of the Dominga mining and port project. Led by Greenpeace and other socio-environmental groups, protesters marched toward La Moneda to demand that the government of President José Antonio Kast does not revive the initiative proposed by Andes Iron in the La Higuera commune of the Coquimbo Region.

The project involves iron and copper extraction alongside port infrastructure near the Humboldt Archipelago, an ecosystem critical for marine biodiversity and the conservation of the Humboldt penguin. While Andes Iron has withdrawn legal appeals against the Supreme Court, the Environmental Evaluation Service has admitted requests to invalidate the previous environmental rejection of the project, raising concerns that the debate may return to administrative review.

During the protests, Greenpeace also criticized the removal of 43 environmental decrees from the Comptroller General's office in March, noting that 34 remain unprocessed. This includes a pending declaration to protect the Humboldt penguin as a natural monument.