After the constitutional court ruling: Andes Iron calls on the government to end dilatory and obstructionist strategy

At Andes Iron, we call for an end to attempts to delay the progress of the Dominga project, following the Constitutional Court’s rejection of the jurisdictional dispute filed by the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA). We warn that such actions, which undermine basic principles of the rule of law, cannot continue to condition the development of a process that has been rigorously evaluated and supported.

We also believe that allocating State resources to try to block an investment project validated by the Environmental Courts contradicts the principle of equality before the law and the right to engage in lawful economic activities. The Government’s continued defiance of judicial rulings blatantly violates constitutional mandates.

Although Andes Iron was not a direct party to the dispute, as the company directly involved in the development of the Dominga project, we consider that this ruling reinforces the legitimacy and legal certainty needed to move forward with the processing of the sectoral permits required for its construction. The Constitutional Court’s decision reaffirms that the SEA’s action lacked legal basis and was part of an obstructionist and dilatory strategy that disregards final court rulings, but is also dilatory, promoted by the government to prevent its execution.

With this ruling, the validity of the enforcement decision issued by the First Environmental Court is reaffirmed. That decision, issued in February 2025, determined that the political role of the Committee of Ministers in the project’s evaluation had been exhausted and that the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) must fully comply with the final judgment of December 2024, which reinstated Dominga’s Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA), now fully in force.

The Dominga project has demonstrated its compliance with environmental regulations at every stage:
• In 2017, the SEA’s Consolidated Evaluation Report (ICE) recommended its approval.
• Subsequently, the First Environmental Court ratified this conclusion in three successive rulings.
• Last May, the SEA of the Coquimbo Region officially reinstated its rating as Approved.

Finally, we reaffirm our commitment to developing the Dominga project in strict compliance with institutional frameworks, with a vision of sustainability aimed at generating progress for neglected local communities and helping address challenges such as access to water in an area historically affected by water scarcity.