Andes Iron files an appeal with Justicia Ambiental to challenge the illegal rejection by the Committee of Ministers

Andes Iron filed an appeal with the First Environmental Court of Antofagasta to challenge the decision of the Committee of Ministers, which, in January 2025, rejected the Dominga project on the basis of considerations regarding the algarrobilla, the pacul, and the spill contingency plan.

None of these issues are new, as they had already been analyzed and resolved during the environmental assessment process and were not part of the complaints submitted to the Committee for its consideration.

The appeal seeks to restore the legality of the procedure and ensure compliance with the decisions already rendered by the competent technical and judicial authorities, whose grounds remain fully valid. The Committee of Ministers lacks the authority to reopen matters that have already been evaluated during the environmental assessment process or to incorporate grounds that were not part of the

complaints originally filed. Reintroducing new grounds as if they were new evidence constitutes a clear violation of fundamental principles of administrative law, such as consistency, legal certainty, and the prohibition against abuse of power.

Furthermore, the ruling issued by the First Environmental Court in December 2024 established clear parameters regarding the scope of the new decision to be issued by the Committee of Ministers. That body was not authorized to conduct a new comprehensive review of the project, but rather to rule within the limits set by the judgment. It should be noted that the project has a Consolidated Assessment Report that concluded it complies with current environmental regulations, and that specialized technical bodies

validated its mitigation, compensation, and monitoring measures. The current controversy does not concern the sufficiency of that information, but rather the legality of an administrative act that seeks to reconfigure the scope of the assessment process ex post.

Pedro Ducci, general manager of Andes Iron, stated that “the environmental court has ruled that the current government’s Committee of Ministers has issued two blatantly illegal rulings, which is why we are confident that the technical authorities will once again support our project. There is no new technical debate here; what is at stake is something more fundamental: that the rules of the game be respected.”

Appeal filed with the Supreme Court

At the same time, Andes Iron filed a petition for review last Thursday with the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling issued by the Antofagasta Court of Appeals on February 20, 2026, which annulled the incidental enforcement proceedings before the First Environmental Court.

The company believes that this ruling prevents the enforcement of a final and enforceable judgment related to the project, thereby undermining legal certainty and the proper application of the law. Dominga is not seeking privileges or exceptions, but rather that the decisions adopted by the technical authorities and confirmed by the courts be respected.

It should be noted that the project’s Consolidated Environmental Assessment Report concluded that the project complies with current environmental regulations; that the First Environmental Court’s ruling of December 2024 resolved the environmental dispute within its jurisdiction; and that the Supreme Court, in September 2025, definitively closed that debate. These precedents allow us to face these proceedings with full confidence in the technical and legal soundness of the project.

Prior to these latest decisions, Dominga was making progress in obtaining the necessary sector-specific permits to reach the construction milestone during the first half of the year—a phase expected to generate approximately 30,000 jobs, including both direct and indirect employment, and nearly 10,000 during operations, with priority given to the Coquimbo Region.

The project involves an investment of over US$2.5 billion, will operate using desalinated seawater, and plans to share this resource with the community in an area affected by drought, under high environmental standards and a permanent commitment to La Higuera and the Coquimbo Region.