condemned anew to be a sacrifice zone
En las costas del Bío Bío, Chile cruzó un umbral histórico al aprobar por unanimidad su primer proyecto minero de tierras raras, abriendo una puerta hacia los minerales críticos que la transición energética global demanda. La decisión, fruto de años de evaluación técnica y consulta ciudadana, no cierra el debate sino que lo traslada: del lenguaje de la ciencia al lenguaje del derecho. Como tantas veces en la historia de los territorios ricos en recursos, la pregunta no es solo si se puede extraer, sino quién decide, quién se beneficia y quién carga con las consecuencias.
- Chile aprobó por unanimidad su primer proyecto de extracción de tierras raras, un hito que reposiciona al país en la cadena global de minerales para tecnologías limpias.
- La decisión desató una fractura inmediata: el alcalde de Penco y organizaciones locales rechazan el fallo y anuncian recursos administrativos y acciones ante tribunales ambientales.
- Los opositores denuncian que la región vuelve a ser tratada como zona de sacrificio, cuestionando si las más de 2.100 observaciones ciudadanas fueron respondidas con real profundidad.
- La empresa defiende una tecnología patentada que extrae minerales de arcilla sin explosivos, sin relaves y con reciclaje total del agua, presentándola como un modelo distinto de minería.
- El sector productivo advierte que judicializar el proyecto castigará a las familias que esperan empleo, mientras el conflicto se desplaza inevitablemente hacia los tribunales.
Un lunes de junio, la Comisión de Evaluación Ambiental de la región del Bío Bío votó por unanimidad para aprobar el primer proyecto minero de tierras raras en la historia de Chile. Los nueve secretarios regionales ministeriales presentes —desde salud hasta medio ambiente— respaldaron la iniciativa de Aclara y Grupo CAP, que operará en el municipio de Penco.
El camino hasta esa votación fue largo. Desde que Aclara presentó su estudio de impacto ambiental en junio de 2024, el proyecto atravesó tres rondas de revisión —el máximo permitido por la ley chilena— con la participación de treinta organismos públicos y cerca de 2.100 observaciones técnicas y ciudadanas. La empresa asegura haber respondido cada una con criterios científicos y de sustentabilidad, e incluyó una consulta indígena en el proceso.
El proyecto contempla una inversión de aproximadamente 130 millones de dólares y la creación de unas 2.200 empleos directos e indirectos, con un compromiso de contratar el 40 por ciento de la fuerza laboral en la zona. Su sello distintivo es la tecnología de Cosecha Mineral Circular, un proceso patentado que recupera tierras raras de arcillas sin explosivos ni trituración, sin generar relaves y reciclando el agua en su totalidad. Los ejecutivos de Aclara y CAP enmarcaron la aprobación como una oportunidad para construir una cadena de valor local ligada a la transición energética global.
Sin embargo, la unanimidad de la comisión no reflejó el sentir del territorio. El alcalde de Penco, Rodrigo Vera, reiteró su oposición y anunció que el municipio estudiaría la resolución para evaluar acciones legales. Las organizaciones ciudadanas presentes fueron más contundentes: una vocera llamada Camila declaró que la decisión condenaba a la región a ser una nueva zona de sacrificio, y anunció que recurrirían a instancias administrativas y, de ser necesario, a los tribunales ambientales.
Desde el sector empresarial, la Cámara de Producción y Comercio del Bío Bío defendió la solidez técnica del proceso y advirtió que judicializar el debate solo retrasaría la recuperación económica de una región que necesita urgentemente reactivación. Lo que comenzó en una sala de comisión parece destinado a resolverse, o al menos a prolongarse, en los estrados judiciales.
On a Monday afternoon in June, Chile's environmental commission voted unanimously to approve the country's first rare earth mining project. The decision came from the Regional Environmental Evaluation Commission in a session led by the regional presidential delegate, Julio Anativia, with nine government secretaries casting their votes in favor—representatives from health, economy, public works, agriculture, housing, transport, mining, social development, and the environment itself.
The project belongs to Aclara and Grupo CAP, and it will operate in Penco, a municipality in the Bío Bío region. The companies framed the approval as the culmination of years of technical work. They had submitted their environmental impact study in June 2024 and then endured a lengthy review process. Thirty public agencies with environmental authority examined the proposal. Twenty-two of those agencies and entities submitted roughly 2,100 technical and citizen observations across three rounds of formal review—the maximum number of review cycles allowed under Chilean environmental law. Aclara said each observation received a response grounded in technical, scientific, and sustainability criteria. The company also noted that indigenous consultation had taken place as part of the evaluation.
The project itself centers on extracting rare earth minerals used to manufacture permanent magnets for clean technologies. Aclara estimates the operation will require approximately $130 million in investment and generate around 2,200 direct and indirect jobs. The company has committed to hiring 40 percent of its workforce locally. The project includes participatory monitoring, biodiversity protection, restoration using native species, and community development programs. What distinguishes Aclara's approach, the company emphasized, is its patented Circular Mineral Harvesting technology. The process recovers rare earths from clay without explosives, crushing, or grinding. It produces no tailings and recycles water entirely.
Enrique Donoso, Aclara's general manager, called the approval a significant milestone. He described years of rigorous technical work, citizen participation, and ongoing dialogue with the territory. He positioned the project not merely as a mining operation but as an opportunity to build a new productive activity tied to the global energy transition, generating local value, employment, and opportunity. Nicolás Burr, the general manager of Grupo CAP, echoed this framing, saying the approval reflected the technical, environmental, and social solidity of the work done throughout evaluation. He spoke of a vision of the future: developing an integrated value chain around rare earths, with the Bío Bío region playing a key role in positioning Chile as a relevant actor in the sector.
But the approval did not settle the matter. Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of Penco, stated plainly that both he and the municipal council had opposed the project during evaluation. He had no vote in the environmental commission, no leverage in the process, but he had been consistent in his objection. When asked about next steps, he said the municipality would study the resolution and consider its options. Opposition groups present at the session were more direct. A woman named Camila, speaking for the organizations against the project, said the decision was condemning the region anew to be a sacrifice zone. She announced that the groups would pursue administrative and legal remedies, arguing that not all citizen observations had been adequately addressed. They planned to file challenges and, if necessary, take the matter to environmental courts.
The Chamber of Production and Commerce in Bío Bío, meanwhile, defended the approval as technically sound and transparent. They criticized groups attempting to block the project through litigation, framing such legal action as an obstacle to regional economic recovery at a moment when the region desperately needed reactivation. A $130 million investment and more than 2,200 jobs, they argued, represented a tremendous engine of development. They called it inopportune to judicialize what should remain a technical and environmental debate, warning that constant court battles would only punish families waiting for employment and postpone progress for the entire zone. What happens next will likely unfold in courtrooms, not in commission chambers.
Notable Quotes
This project was approved despite the opposition of the entire Municipal Council. We were not part of the vote, we had no influence, but we were consistent.— Rodrigo Vera, Mayor of Penco
This approval condemns us anew to be a sacrifice zone. The community will continue pushing actions to reverse it through administrative and legal remedies.— Camila, opposition organizer
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did this approval matter so much that it warranted a unanimous vote from nine government secretaries?
Because rare earth minerals are essential to the global energy transition—magnets for electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, all the technologies the world is racing to build. Chile has the geology to produce them. This was the first time the country had actually approved a project to do so.
But the mayor of Penco opposed it. The municipal government said no. How does that get overruled?
The environmental commission is a national body. Local governments can submit observations during the review, but they don't have a vote. The mayor was heard, but his opposition didn't carry the weight of the nine secretaries who did vote.
The opposition groups say not all citizen observations were answered. What does that mean in practice?
During the three rounds of review, 2,100 questions and concerns came in from the public. Aclara had to respond to each one. The opposition is saying some responses were inadequate—that real concerns were dismissed or not fully addressed. They want a court to examine whether the process was actually as rigorous as it appeared.
The company says it uses no explosives, no tailings, recycles all its water. If that's true, what's the actual environmental risk?
That's the core dispute. Aclara's technology may be genuinely cleaner than conventional mining. But the opposition seems to be saying that even a cleaner mine in their region is still a mine—still an industrial operation with risks they didn't consent to. It's not just about the technology. It's about who decides what happens to their land.
So this isn't really over.
Not at all. The approval is one step. The legal challenges are the next. The real test of whether this project actually happens will likely play out in court.