Environmentalists file criminal complaint against Minera

Lawyer Harley Mitchell and environmental groups filed a criminal complaint against Minera Panamá, the administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), Noriel Arauz, and the director of Ports and Auxiliary Maritime Industries, Flor Pitty, reports TVN.

As detailed by the lawyer specializing in environmental issues, the complaint is for alleged shipments with excessive amounts of minerals, due, supposedly, to uncalibrated weights in favor of the company.

He added that they are issues derived from the non-compliance of Minera Panama, the environmental and administrative instruments that would determine the amount of copper concentrate that they extracted and exported through the site called Punta Rincón, which, although it is administered by Minera Panama, was under the supervision of the AMP.

According to Mitchell, last January the AMP stopped exports of copper concentrate through a resolution issued by the Directorate of Ports and Auxiliary Maritime Industries.

He added that the resolution reveals that the AMP knew since 2017 that the weights destined for the export of copper concentrate were out of calibration, in such a way that the excess weight of this material could capsize the ships that did the export task. , endangering life, the environment and the cargo itself.

Mitchell indicated that this irregularity remained without being prosecuted, punished and the AMP did not notify the competent entities such as the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Co