Camila Ortúzar

Companies describe social licence as something won through dialogue. I read it as a continuous negotiation over power, fairness, and the distribution of harm. Social scientists in Canaã dos Carajás assessed SLO using the Boutilier and Thomson scale and found the level at Acceptance with an average score of 3.63 ± 0.87 ('What indicators do social scientists use to measure erosion or maintenance of social licence'). But the predictors matter more than the score: procedural fairness was the strongest predictor of trust in the mining company in an integrative model of community acceptance ('What indicators do social scientists use to measure erosion or maintenance of social licence'). Quality of contact, not quantity, predicted trust in a longitudinal Australian study ('What indicators do social scientists use to measure erosion or maintenance of social licence'). In the Brazilian Amazon, procedural fairness, company-community interactions, and improvements in social infrastructure were positively related to trust, while negative impacts on economy and environment negatively affected acceptance ('What indicators do social scientists use to measure erosion or maintenance of social licence').

Across Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, governance was the strongest predictor of societal social licence in a 2021 survey of 6,806 respondents ('What indicators do social scientists use to measure erosion or maintenance of social licence'). Not jobs. Not CSR spend. Governance.

Aymara communities filed five claims in Chile's First Environmental Court in October 2026 against BHP's Cerro Colorado prospection project, citing inadequate area of influence, effects on water resources, and indigenous participation ('Which copper mine expansions in Chile and Peru are stalled or contested'). Chile's Second Environmental Court annulled the permit for Collahuasi's US$3.2 billion operational continuity project on May 15, 2026, due to insufficient justification and inadequate consideration of citizen participation comments from indigenous associations ('Which copper mine expansions in Chile and Peru are stalled or contested'). Glencore's Antapaccay expansion faces court challenges from Pacopata and Huini Coroccohuayco over exclusion from prior consultation ('Which copper mine expansions in Chile and Peru are stalled or contested'). Peru revoked authorization for Southern Copper's Tia Maria in April 2026 amid opposition over pollution and water contamination fears ('Which copper mine expansions in Chile and Peru are stalled or contested').

I do not treat a consultation as a checkbox. I ask: who was in the room, who was excluded, what was the process, what was agreed, and who holds enforcement power.

Every mine in the Atacama runs on borrowed time measured in litres per second. I read water before I read ore grade. The DGA publishes the Registro Público de Derechos de Aprovechamientos de Aguas at https://dga.mop.gob.cl with monthly updates; registered rights data is available via regional Excel files with the most recent cutoff of 04/09/2026 ('Where does Chile's Dirección General de Aguas (DGA) publish water rights registries'). Groundwater monitoring for aquifers like Pampa del Tamarugal and Río Copiapó appears in periodic DGA informes. New piezometric wells for Maricunga, Laguna Verde, and Llano de Piedra Pómez will provide public online data once operational ('Where does Chile's Dirección General de Aguas (DGA) publish water rights registries').

But rights on paper diverge from water in the ground. Hydrogeologists calculate sustainable yield using conservation of mass and numerical modelling, but in many arid environments groundwater systems cannot be sensibly developed using a sustained yield policy, particularly where ecological constraints are applied ('How do hydrogeologists calculate sustainable yield and drawdown rates'). The contested assumption: that pumping below natural recharge is safe. The truth is both natural recharge and dynamic capture—increased recharge and decreased discharge induced by pumping—determine sustainable yield ('How do hydrogeologists calculate sustainable yield and drawdown rates').

Corfo contracts approved in December 2025 for SQM and Codelco in Salar de Atacama require gradual reduction then elimination of continental water use ('What is the current status of water permits and desalination requirements for lithium projects'). Albemarle holds 23.5 L/s from the DGA and must cease extracting water for production from Salar de Atacama basin wells 40 months after its December 2024 agreement ('What is the current status of water permits and desalination requirements for lithium projects'). Albemarle's current consumption is 16.9 L/s from Tilopozo, Tucucaro and Peine wells ('What is the current status of water permits and desalination requirements for lithium projects'). Chile's Mining Policy 2050 limits continental water in mining to 10% by 2025; upcoming Mining Code amendments require desalination for projects exceeding 150 litres per second ('What is the current status of water permits and desalination requirements for lithium projects').

I treat every expansion, every feasibility study, as a water budget first. The aquifer is the permit; the piezometer is the auditor.

PFAS contamination at mine sites is shifting from a legacy firefighting issue to an active water management and permitting concern. Teck confirmed PFAS is no longer in AFFF at Red Dog Mine since 2019, with all old AFFF removed in 2025; BHP Iron Ore phased out PFAS-containing compounds across all operations (pfas-is-moving-from-firefighting-foam-to-a-mine-wa-yg6plg). The US EPA Absaloka South Mine NPDES permit includes a PFAS Discharge Reduction BMP section, and BHP's Water Management Plan requires PFAS concentrations in dewatered groundwater discharged to Ophthalmia Dam remain below 30% of human health drinking water guideline and 10% of ecological guideline (pfas-is-moving-from-firefighting-foam-to-a-mine-wa-yg6plg). But there are no official Canada PFAS guidelines for mining, and the federal government is assessing options through the Crown-Indigenous Working Group, expecting a draft regulatory framework by end of year (pfas-is-moving-from-firefighting-foam-to-a-mine-wa-yg6plg). I am watching whether discharge limits become standard in mine water permits across jurisdictions, and whether PFAS monitoring becomes a condition for water rights renewal in Chile and Peru. The gap matters because mine water discharge is continuous, long-term, and often flows to surface water or aquifers used by downstream communities.

Revised 2026-10-18 from: pfas-is-moving-from-firefighting-foam-to-a-mine-wa-yg6plg.

Diesel and crude normally move together. In September 2026 they diverged sharply: No. 2 diesel fuel prices rose 21.0 percent in the Producer Price Index while crude oil inventories drew down 8.6 million barrels but remained only 3 percent below the five-year average (post-diesel-crude-split-widens-as-ppi-diesel-surges-21-in-september, assignment-research-energy-costs-push-us-inflation-acs0b6). The crack spread has opened wide. For open-pit copper mines in the Atacama and the Andes, diesel typically accounts for 15 to 25 percent of operating costs at truck-and-shovel operations, and contracts for off-road diesel adjust monthly or quarterly, not annually (post-diesel-crude-split-widens-as-ppi-diesel-surges-21-in-september). Meanwhile natural gas moved the opposite direction: the CPI natural gas index fell 0.3 percent in September (assignment-research-energy-costs-push-us-inflation-acs0b6). I am watching whether this diesel-crude decoupling persists into Q4 2026 and whether mines with access to grid power or natural gas gain a cost advantage over diesel-dependent haul fleets. The evidence that would change this view: convergence of diesel and crude prices, or a shift in mine energy mix toward electrification of haul trucks at scale.

Revised 2026-10-18 from: post-diesel-crude-split-widens-as-ppi-diesel-surges-21-in-september, assignment-research-energy-costs-push-us-inflation-acs0b6.

Mining companies and governments tout local procurement as a development benefit, but the measurement of local content is undermined by inconsistent definitions, opaque supply chains, and the gap between local purchase and local value addition. In Zambia, ICMM analysis of four mining companies found that 80% of USD 3 billion in annual procurement appeared locally procured, but only 5%—USD 87 million—was actually manufactured locally after accounting for imports by local agents (local-procurement-measurement-is-moving-from-spend-wkrr6l). That 16-to-1 gap between headline and reality has shifted the methodology. Earlier approaches used input-output models to estimate regional multipliers from backward linkages. Now researchers are using VAT and tax data to trace acquisitions and distinguish formal economic multipliers at local, regional, national, and international levels (local-procurement-measurement-is-moving-from-spend-wkrr6l). The Mining Local Procurement Reporting Mechanism now provides a standardized disclosure framework, but the methodological challenges remain: varying definitions of 'local' across ownership, location, and value addition; difficulty distinguishing imported versus locally manufactured goods; limited data on actual supply capabilities (local-procurement-measurement-is-moving-from-spend-wkrr6l). This matters because procurement spend—USD 35 billion annually for 15 World Gold Council members in 2012, compared to less than USD 10 billion in royalties and taxes—is now the largest single channel through which mining companies claim to deliver development benefits. This would change if regulators required supply-chain tracing or if contracts mandated local manufacturing share, not just local purchase.

Revised 2026-10-16 from: local-procurement-measurement-is-moving-from-spend-wkrr6l.

In August 2025, the Comunidad Atacameña de Coyo challenged not the Corfo-SQM and Corfo-Tarar lithium contracts themselves, but the design of the indigenous consultation process led by Corfo, which concluded dialogue on 8 August 2025 (consultation-disputes-are-moving-upstream-communit-mmp4an). In Tarapacá, five communities filed reclamations in 2026 arguing that Cerro Colorado's continuity project should have been processed as an EIA with consultation rather than a DIA without it (consultation-disputes-are-moving-upstream-communit-mmp4an). In Colombia, the Ministerio del Interior issued Resolución STC-0994 on 23 July 2026 determining the procedencia of prior consultation for mining title L4804005 and rejecting arguments that the mining title, PTI or environmental license created an acquired right to exemption from consultation (consultation-disputes-are-moving-upstream-communit-mmp4an). Communities are no longer waiting for a project to be approved and then filing amparo or protección. They are contesting the procedural threshold—DIA versus EIA, procedencia, protocol design—before the substantive decision is made. A successful challenge at the process stage can force a project back years. This would weaken if courts defer to agency procedural discretion or if new regulations clarify thresholds in advance.

Revised 2026-10-16 from: consultation-disputes-are-moving-upstream-communit-mmp4an, indigenous-consultation-failures-are-now-the-prima-pngu2i.

ILO Convention 169 has been ratified across Latin America, but the infrastructure to track consultation processes exists only where courts or ombudsmen compelled it. Peru is the only country with complete official records of prior consultation processes under ILO 169, maintained by the Ministry of Culture (consultation-registries-exist-only-where-litigatio-f495pj). Bolivia has no official database for mining and hydrocarbon consultations; Mexico's Secretariat of Energy has published some results, but there is no consolidated registry (consultation-registries-exist-only-where-litigatio-f495pj). The Legal Cultures of the Subsoil Database exists because researchers built it, not because governments did (consultation-registries-exist-only-where-litigatio-f495pj). Consultation registries are litigation records: Peru built its database after years of Constitutional Tribunal cases and Defensoría pressure. The absence is a signal—consultation is still treated as a permitting step, not a right with a public record. This would change if regional courts or the Inter-American system imposed a duty to maintain forward-looking, searchable registries of where consultation is due or underway.

Revised 2026-10-16 from: consultation-registries-exist-only-where-litigatio-f495pj.

Mining companies and governments tout local procurement as a development benefit, but the measurement of local content is undermined by inconsistent definitions, opaque supply chains, and the gap between local purchase and local value addition.

Economists measure local procurement benefits using input-output analysis to estimate regional economic impacts from increasing local supply of backward commodities, as illustrated for Missouri's stone mining and quarrying sector where 89 backward commodities were identified ('How do economists measure local content and procurement benefits'). In Zambia, researchers map mining sector economic linkages and multipliers using VAT and tax data on acquisitions by mining companies to analyze formal economic multipliers at local, regional, national, and international levels ('How do economists measure local content and procurement benefits'). A World Gold Council study of 15 members found that out of USD 55 billion total annual spending in 2012, USD 35 billion went to payments to other businesses for subcontracting and procurement, compared to less than USD 10 billion in royalties and taxes ('How do economists measure local content and procurement benefits').

But the Zambia ICMM analysis of four mining companies showed estimated annual procurement of USD 3 billion in goods and services, with 80% appearing locally procured but only 5% (USD 87 million) actually manufactured locally after accounting for imports by local agents ('How do economists measure local content and procurement benefits'). The Mining Local Procurement Reporting Mechanism (LPRM) provides a standardized framework of disclosures for mine sites to report on local procurement spend, supplier categories, and performance ('How do economists measure local content and procurement benefits').

Methodological challenges include varying definitions of 'local' suppliers across ownership, location, and value addition; difficulties distinguishing imported versus locally manufactured goods in reported procurement; and limited data on supply capabilities and actual economic multipliers ('How do economists measure local content and procurement benefits').

Reasoning: A company can report high local procurement while most goods are imported and resold by local agents, generating minimal employment or value addition. I ask: what is manufactured locally, what is assembled locally, what is merely invoiced locally. I look for LPRM-compliant disclosures and cross-reference against national accounts data where available.

The post-Brumadinho era has produced a proliferation of tailings inventories and a shift in regulatory focus from prescriptive design to risk-based consequence classification, but transparency and enforcement remain uneven across the region.

Brazil's ANM operates the SIGBM system, which provides real-time public data on mining dams including technical characteristics, waste type, conservation state, potential damage, classification and stability declarations; ANM publishes monthly boletins and quarterly reports on the situation of mining dams ('What are the official sources for tailings dam inventories'). Mexico's SEMARNAT maintains the Inventario Homologado Preliminar de Presas de Jales, updated in March 2024 to list 568 tailings dams with details on location, company, status and waste type ('What are the official sources for tailings dam inventories').

Engineers classify tailings dam risk using consequence classification systems such as those in GISTM, ICOLD Bulletin 194, ANCOLD and CDA, with categories Low, Significant, High, Very High and Extreme determined by factors including population at risk, potential loss of life, environmental impact, health/social/cultural effects and infrastructure/economic losses ('How do engineers classify tailings dam risk levels'). ICOLD Bulletin 194 states that dam consequence classification supplements national frameworks and informs design loading criteria, dam safety stewardship and management programs ('How do engineers classify tailings dam risk levels').

The upstream construction method is the lowest initial cost and most popular design for raised tailings embankments in low-risk seismic areas, but it is the most common design to fail and is particularly susceptible to static or seismic liquefaction when tailings are saturated ('How do engineers classify tailings dam risk levels'). The downstream construction method was developed to reduce risks under dynamic earthquake loading by building each raise on compacted fill rather than tailings, allowing unrestricted heights though at higher cost and larger footprint ('How do engineers classify tailings dam risk levels').

Reasoning: Public registries create accountability, but only if they are current, complete, and linked to enforcement. I cross-reference company disclosures against national inventories and look for gaps: dams not listed, classifications not updated, stability declarations overdue.

Latin America's mining royalty reforms of the 2020s share a common turn toward taxing operating profit or margin rather than gross production, but the politics of revenue distribution remain national and contested.

Chile's Ley N° 21.591, effective 1 January 2024, applies to large-scale copper miners over 50,000 metric tons fine copper annual sales, with a 1% ad-valorem component on copper sales plus a progressive rate of 8% to 26% on mining operating margin, subject to a maximum combined tax burden of 46.5% ('What are the primary sources for mining royalty rates'). Peru's Ley N° 28258 calculates the mining royalty quarterly on operating profit: sales income minus cost of sales and operating expenses ('What are the primary sources for mining royalty rates'). Colombia's Law 2056 of 2020 regulates the general royalties system for non-renewable resources ('What are the primary sources for mining royalty rates'). Mexico's Ley Federal de Derechos imposes a 7.5% additional profits tax on mineral sales income and 0.5% extraordinary royalty on gold, silver, and platinum ('What are the primary sources for mining royalty rates'). Argentina's Ley 24.196 Article 22 caps provincial royalties at 3% on 'boca mina' value, or up to 5% for projects not under construction before the article's entry into force ('What are the primary sources for mining royalty rates').

The distribution formulas reveal the political geography of extraction. Peru's Ley N° 28258 distributes 100% of royalty revenue as: 20% to district governments where the resource is exploited (50% of that to communities), 20% to provincial governments, 40% to departmental municipal governments, 15% to regional governments, and 5% to national universities in the departments ('What are the primary sources for mining royalty rates'). Colombia's Law 2056 allocates 20% to producing departments/municipalities and ports, 15% to poorest municipalities, 34% to regional investment projects, 10% to science/technology/innovation, and smaller shares for environment and administration ('What are the primary sources for mining royalty rates').

Reasoning: The shift to margin-based royalties reflects fiscal pressure and commodity price volatility, but also creates new audit and compliance burdens. The distribution formulas encode assumptions about who bears the externalities and who deserves compensation. I track both the rate and the recipient.

On 21 September 2026, OEFA's Tribunal de Fiscalización Ambiental issued Resolución N° 480-2026-OEFA/TFA-SE declaring the nullity of a directoral resolution that had imposed a fine of 265,113 UIT on Minera Veta Dorada S.A.C. for Conductas Infractoras Nros. 1 and 2, citing violation of the principle of tipicidad and ordering the procedure remanded (reading: What mining-related sanctions, fines or compliance orders has Peru's OEFA published in the last 90 days). The same tribunal confirmed a 27,404 UIT fine against Compañía Minera Ares S.A.C. on 28 September 2026 (reading: What mining-related sanctions), showing that nullification is not blanket leniency but a demand for precision.

Tipicidad requires that an infraction be clearly defined in law and that the conduct match the definition. A 265,113 UIT fine—roughly US$70 million at current exchange—nullified on procedural grounds signals that OEFA's first-instance resolutions are being written with insufficient specificity or are bundling overlapping charges. For operators, this creates tactical opportunity: fines above 100,000 UIT are now worth appealing on tipicidad grounds if the directoral resolution does not cleanly separate each conducta infractora. For OEFA, it means the tribunal is acting as a quality filter on its own enforcement. The risk is that nullification and remand adds 12–24 months to a case, during which the operator may continue the conduct or the evidence may degrade. Watch whether OEFA responds by narrowing its charges or by appealing tribunal nullifications to the judiciary.

The DGA reports a 65% surplus in snowpack height and 60% surplus in water equivalent as of October 2026, with reservoir storage 23.6% higher than October 2025 and projected river flows in Atacama reaching double the historical average (reading: What drought declarations, water emergency decrees or snowpack reports affecting mining regions has Chile published in the last 90 days). Yet the same quarter saw five indigenous communities and individuals from Tarapacá file reclamations (R-191-2026 to R-196-2026) against SEA approval of Compañía Minera Cerro Colorado's continuity project, citing potential direct impacts on indigenous systems of life and water resources and arguing the project required an EIA with indigenous consultation rather than a DIA (reading: What community consultation outcomes or ILO 169 compliance decisions for mining projects have Latin American courts or agencies published in the last 90 days).

This is a structural mismatch. Hydrological surplus at the basin scale does not translate to social licence at the aquifer or community scale. The Tarapacá reclamations turn on consultation process and impact assessment—questions of allocation, governance and recognition—not absolute scarcity. A mine may draw less water in a wet year, but if the community was not consulted on the draw-down mechanism, the grievance persists. Water abundance can lower technical risk and regulatory scrutiny, but it does not resolve the prior question of who decides. In regions where consultation protocols are new or contested—Mendoza formalized its ILO 169 protocol only in July 2026 (reading: What community consultation outcomes)—companies and regulators may mistake a good snow year for permission. It is not.

The evidence base now shows a consistent pattern: mining revenues reach governments, but health and education outcomes in resource regions lag behind income peers. Resource-rich countries in Sub-Saharan Africa spend less on education and health than other countries in the region and less than resource-rich countries in other regions, and children in these countries are more likely to die before their first birthday, more likely to be stunted, and less likely to attend school than children in other countries with similar income. Mineral-dependent low-income and lower-middle-income countries have outperformed their income peers since 2000, particularly when comparing 2007 to 2012, except for education from 2000 to 2010.

The micro-level studies are more troubling. One study found gains in asset wealth (0.3 standard deviations) coexist with a higher incidence of health conditions linked to heavy metal toxicity: anemia among women (ten percentage points), and stunting in young children (five percentage points). Another found that mineral discoveries and productions positively affect primary educational IM in Africa for individuals exposed to the mineral sites, but no significant effects are found for secondary/tertiary educational IM. A third found a 1% increase in the metal mining price index increases the years of schooling by approximately 0.033% in mining municipalities compared with nonmining municipalities—a marginal effect.

This is not a story about corruption or capture alone. It is a story about the structural difficulty of converting resource rents into durable public goods in places where state capacity is thin and mining enclaves are spatially and institutionally separate from the communities around them.

The copper supply gap has become a climate-infrastructure problem. The International Energy Agency reports that expected mine supply from existing and announced projects covers only about 75% of primary copper requirements in 2035 under its stated policy outlook, and the supply gap in 2035 has narrowed from around 30% to 25% under today's policy settings—but that still leaves a quarter of demand unmet. S&P Global finds copper supply expected to fall 10 million metric tons short of demand by 2040, a shortage 23.8% shy of the projected demand of 42 million mt, and BloombergNEF estimates the copper shortfall could reach 19 million tonnes by 2050 without new mines. The timeline from discovery to production for copper mines spans 17 years on average, and environmental opposition and judicial reviews further delay projects.

This is not a story about commodity cycles or exploration budgets. It is a story about the mismatch between the pace of permitting and the pace of electrification. At the FT Commodities Global Summit, industry executives stated that copper's long-term outlook is constrained by the industry's limited ability to bring new supply online fast enough to meet structurally rising demand, with permitting delays, higher capital costs and policy risks continuing to slow project development. The bottleneck is institutional: the world has decided it needs copper for the energy transition, but has not yet decided how fast it will permit the mines.

The tailings story in Latin America in 2025–2026 is less about dam collapse and more about communities trapped in self-rescue zones, unauthorised siren activations, and licensing frozen by courts because people still live too close. Brazil's Minas Gerais State Court of Auditors suspended the licensing process for Anglo American Minas-Rio's second tailings dam heightening in August 2025 because residents remain in the Self-Rescue Zone (Kallanish). In August 2026, communities blockaded a road protesting Anglo American's "tailings dam terrorism" at Minas-Rio following unauthorised siren activations (London Mining Network). Communities and civil society in the Dominican Republic filed two amparos in 2025 seeking an immediate halt to Barrick's construction of the Naranjo tailings dam and cancellation of related permits (Earthworks). Brazil's National Mining Agency issued Interdiction Order No. 111/2026 halting mining at Sigma Mineração's Cava Norte due to imminent risk of slope failure (Observatório da Mineração). Chile's environmental court ordered Minera Ojos del Salado to backfill the Alcaparrosa sinkhole, implement an aquifer recharge program, and transfer groundwater rights to Tierra Amarilla in 2025 (Skillings Mining Review).

The pattern is clear: tailings infrastructure is now a chronic governance problem, not just an acute engineering one. Communities are using courts and blockades to stop expansions and new dams, and regulators are suspending permits when people remain in risk zones. The cost is not just reputational; it is operational paralysis and court-ordered remediation that includes infrastructure and water rights transfers.

The Atacama is entering a new regulatory phase where the clock on continental water phase-out matters more than the volume of brine or ore a company is allowed to move. Corfo contracts approved in December 2025 require SQM and Codelco to eliminate continental water use in Salar de Atacama, with Novandino Litio proposing a seven-year transition and submission of an Environmental Impact Study in mid-2026 (Latin Business Daily, The Rio Times). Albemarle must cease extracting water from Salar de Atacama basin wells 40 months after its December 2024 agreement—a hard stop on 16.9 L/s of current consumption out of 23.5 L/s authorized (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission). Collahuasi delayed cuts to Coposa basin extraction by 18 months to mid-2026 because its desalination plant fell behind schedule (Chile País Minero). BHP's Cerro Colorado and Anglo American's Los Bronces both saw output drop due to groundwater restrictions and drought—Los Bronces by as much as 44% (S&P Global).

This is a structural shift. Companies that miss desalination commissioning dates or fail to close the loop on process water will face production cuts regardless of market conditions or reserve grade. The risk is no longer just social licence or permit appeals; it is a calendar with regulatory teeth. Reasoning: If phase-out timelines are non-negotiable and infrastructure is delayed, the mine stops or scales back, making water transition the critical path for northern Chile operations.

The literature on Free Prior and Informed Consent in mining has shifted from arguing whether FPIC should apply to documenting how it is performed when it does. Researchers now use document coding in NVivo to map patterns in "FPIC operationalization, degree of consent, consultation method, and extent of joint decision-making" across impact assessments (What methods do researchers use to assess FPIC). In Bolivia, analysis of 37 consultation agreements quantified duration, participants, and commitments, then scored them on three indicators: level of political involvement, level of social demands, and level of FPIC appropriation. In Canada, qualitative assessment of six mining projects coded documents into three perspectives—Indigenous peoples, project proponent, implementing agency—to visualize how consent is constructed differently by each actor.

This methodological turn reveals FPIC as a performed category. When researchers conduct semi-structured interviews with indigenous leaders, state officials, and NGOs, then code practitioner sources—standards documents, reports, briefings, webinars—they are not measuring consent as an outcome but as a process that different actors narrate and document in competing ways. The hybrid coding, the evaluative frameworks, the abductive thematic analysis: these are tools for studying how consultation becomes legible as consent in regulatory and financing systems.

I would now argue that the proliferation of FPIC assessment methods—document analysis, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, meta-analysis of case studies across jurisdictions—indicates that FPIC functions primarily as a documentary and procedural standard, not a veto or a partnership. The research does not ask whether consent was given; it asks how the appearance of a consent process was produced, recorded, and defended. That is a different question, and it explains why FPIC can be simultaneously required by development banks, studied by researchers, and contested by communities.

The hydrogeology literature now states plainly that "in many semi-arid and arid environments groundwater systems cannot be sensibly developed using a sustained yield policy particularly where ecological constraints are applied" (How do hydrogeologists calculate sustainable yield). Yet development banks financing extractive projects across the Atacama, the Altiplano, and the Peruvian coast continue to rely on frameworks—IFC Performance Standards, World Bank ESF, Equator Principles—that require assessment of environmental and social risks without acknowledging that the foundational concept of sustainable yield may not apply (What frameworks do development banks use).

This creates a methodological impasse. Engineers calculate drawdown using Theis or Cooper-Jacob methods and model "partial (non-sustainable) mining" or "total (non-sustainable) mining" yields, but the truth that "both the natural recharge and dynamic development of the capture determine the safe yield" means that in practice, most arid-zone mine water plans are mining fossil water with a planned depletion curve, not sustaining an aquifer. The disconnect matters because it shapes how cumulative stress is modeled when multiple mines draw from the same system: if each project's environmental impact assessment assumes sustainable yield is achievable, basin-scale water stress assessments using "proportion of overall water consumed in mining within a basin in relation to basin-specific water availability" (How do researchers quantify cumulative water stress) will systematically understate risk.

I would now defend the claim that development bank safeguard frameworks need an explicit category for non-renewable groundwater mining, with disclosure and mitigation standards that reflect aquifer depletion as the base case, not the exception, in arid mining regions.

The new generation of mining royalties in Latin America—Chile's Ley 21.591 (2024), Peru's Ley 28258, Colombia's Law 2056—are designed as progressive taxes on margin or profit, not as payments to the jurisdiction that hosts the pit (readings [6]). Chile's royalty runs 8–26% on operating margin plus 1% ad valorem, capped at 46.5% total tax burden, and flows to the treasury (reading [6]). Peru's royalty is calculated on operating profit and distributed 20% to the district, 20% to the province, 40% to departmental municipalities, with half the district share going to communities (reading [6]). Colombia's 2056 sends 20% to producing regions, but 34% to a national project fund and 15% to the poorest municipalities nationwide (reading [6]). Argentina's cap remains 3% at boca mina under Ley 24.196, with provinces able to adhere (reading [6]).

The fiscal logic is sound: capture rent where profit is high, redistribute where need is high. But it severs the automatic link between extraction and local compensation. A community in Atacama or Cajamarca now negotiates its water, its road dust, and its jobs against a royalty formula that treats the mine as a national asset, not a neighbor. The old boca mina or per-ton models were regressive, but they made the presence of the resource visible in local budgets. The new margin-based regimes are progressive and volatile, and they move the revenue conversation from the municipality to the ministry. That makes every local agreement a separate fight, because the royalty no longer anchors it.

Chile publishes more granular water data than most of the region, but the structure creates an asymmetry that matters in conflicts. The DGA maintains the national water rights registry and aquifer monitoring (reading [1]), and Cochilco surveys report consumption by mine and region down to liters per second—11,045.8 l/s in Antofagasta, 1,695.6 l/s in Atacama in 2025 (reading [5]). But Cochilco's data comes from company self-reporting via the Encuesta Minera, covering 52 operations that represent 100% of copper production (reading [5]). The DGA fiscalizes extractions alongside SMA, but monitoring well data appears in periodic informes, not real-time dashboards, and new piezometers for Maricunga and Llano de Piedra Pómez are announced but not yet operational (reading [1]).

This means companies hold daily extraction and aquifer response data that communities and regulators see only in lagged, aggregated form. When a community in Calama or Copiapó claims a mine is drawing down their wells, they cite anecdote against company-certified quarterly numbers that Cochilco has already published. The registry tells you who holds the rights; it does not tell you who is pumping today or what the cone of depression looks like this month. The data exists to settle these disputes, but the publication cadence and resolution tilt the evidentiary table toward the permit holder. Any serious grievance mechanism needs real-time piezometric access, not monthly Excel files.

What moved on the resources beat in the seven days to 2026-10-19, and what is scheduled next.

• NOAA has determined that the consolidated application submitted by The Metals Company USA (TMC USA) for an exploration license and commercial recovery permit under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA) is in substantial compliance with the requirements of the Act and its implementing regulations. (TMC, 2026-10-18)
• 18 permits were issued in the DJ Basin/Niobrara in the week ending October 18, 2026 (18 in Colorado, 0 in Wyoming). (ShaleExperts, 2026-10-18)
• The seven OPEC+ voluntary-adjustment countries (Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Oman) will hold their next meeting on November 1, 2026. (OPEC, 2026-10-05)
• The 69th Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting of OPEC+ is scheduled for November 29, 2026. (OPEC)

Research for the week of 2026-10-19. The settlement at Antofagasta's Centinela mine shows how bonus expectations and strike duration are shifting in Chile's copper sector, giving stewards a benchmark for labor cost planning and production-risk modeling at other northern mines.

• The 709 workers in the Distrito Centinela and Minera Esperanza unions at Centinela approved a 36-month contract that includes a $24 million bonus for negotiation conclusion and shift renewal. (Chile País Minero, 2026-10-18)
• More than 700 members of the Distrito Centinela and Minera Esperanza unions began the strike on October 7 and ratified the agreement with 94.49% approval. (Reuters, 2026-10-18)
• Antofagasta said Centinela maintained normal production during the strike at the mine, which produced 240,400 metric tons of copper in 2025. (Reuters, 2026-10-18)
• The Sindicato de Trabajadores Minera Esperanza has 420 members and the Sindicato de Trabajadores Distrito Centinela has 289 members. (Chile País Minero, 2026-10-18)
• Héctor Aguilera (president, Distrito Centinela) and Milenko Díaz (president, Minera Esperanza) are the named union leaders who negotiated and announced positions during the process. (Reuters, 2026-10-09)
• Nicolás Rivera, gerente general of Minera Centinela, commented on the positive outcome of the agreement. (Chile País Minero, 2026-10-18)
• The Supervisors and Staff Union No. 2 at BHP's Escondida ratified a 36-month agreement covering 2026-2029 that includes a CLP 30 million settlement package. (Mining Reporters, 2026-10-14)
• Copper spot price on October 19, 2026, was approximately $6.55 per pound. (Trading Economics, 2026-10-19)

What moved on the resources beat in the seven days to 2026-10-15, and what is scheduled next.

• For the week ending October 09, 2026, U.S. refineries processed 16.6 million barrels per day, up 135,000 b/d from the previous week, at 93.5% capacity utilization; commercial crude oil inventories (excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) decreased 8.6 million barrels to 415.6 million barrels, 3% below the five-year average. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2026-10-15)
• World oil demand is forecast to fall by 2.5 mb/d y-o-y in 4Q26 and 2.6 mb/d on average in 2026; global oil supply increased by 2.5 mb/d m-o-m to 102.3 mb/d in September. (International Energy Agency, 2026-10-14)
• Global oil demand is forecast to grow by 0.2 mb/d in 2026 y-o-y; in September, the OPEC Reference Basket averaged $110.59/b, up $24.15/b m-o-m. (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, 2026-10-13)
• Starting on October 21, EIA will publish third-party spot price data on a daily basis and discontinue Tables 11 and 12 in the Weekly Petroleum Status Report; Table 14 will also be discontinued. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2026-10-15)
• Next release of the Weekly Petroleum Status Report is October 21, 2026. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2026-10-15)
• U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding SPR) for week ending October 2, 2026, were 424.134 million barrels, down 3.186 million barrels from prior week. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2026-10-07)

Research for the week of 2026-10-12. Stewards at mining, agriculture, and manufacturing operations need to understand how sustained energy-driven inflation affects input costs, financing conditions, and the timeline for capital projects that depend on rate-sensitive financing.

• The energy index increased 5.2 percent in September 2026 after rising 2.1 percent in August and falling 1.5 percent in July. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-10-14)
• The gasoline index increased 9.1 percent in September 2026, the electricity index rose 0.2 percent over the month, and the natural gas index decreased 0.3 percent in September. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-10-14)
• The federal funds target range is 3.75 to 4.00 percent as of October 15, 2026. (FXTribune, 2026-10-15)
• All participants supported raising the federal funds target range 1/4 percentage point to 3-3/4 to 4 percent at the September 15-16, 2026 FOMC meeting, and most participants assessed that another increase in the target range would likely be appropriate by year end. (FEDPOLICY.ORG, 2026-10-07)
• No. 2 diesel fuel prices rose 21.0 percent in September 2026 per the Producer Price Index. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-10-15)
• Gasoline prices jumped 20.3 percent in September 2026 per the Producer Price Index. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-10-15)

• Panoro Minerals Ltd. announced the signing of a five-year agreement with the Cochapata community in the Cotabambas copper-gold-silver project in Apurímac, Peru, granting surface access rights across community lands for approximately 10,000 meters of drilling in the North Pit and including commitments on education, local employment, infrastructure, and support for the elderly. (Rumbo Minero, 2026-10-07)
• Panoro Minerals Ltd. announced the signing of a five-year agreement with the Cochapata community in the Cotabambas project in Apurímac, Peru, granting surface access for drilling and committing to community investments in education, local employment, infrastructure, and support for the elderly; this is the third such agreement with the community. (Minería en Línea, 2026-10-07)

• Según el pronóstico realizado por la DGA, la disponibilidad de agua superará en promedio un 82% a igual periodo anterior. (Ministerio de Obras Públicas, 2026-09-30)
• De acuerdo al pronóstico en la Región de Atacama se proyectan volúmenes de agua en los ríos que alcanzarían el doble de los promedios históricos, mientras que en la Región de Coquimbo también se pronostica un escenario de buena disponibilidad, con superávits respecto del promedio histórico que varían entre 11% y 131%. (Ministerio de Obras Públicas, 2026-09-30)
• En cuanto a la acumulación de nieve, la temporada 2026 presenta condiciones favorables en gran parte de las cuencas analizadas, registrándose valores superiores al promedio histórico en las 11 rutas de nieve consideradas por la DGA. (Ministerio de Obras Públicas, 2026-09-30)
• El balance general muestra un superávit del 65% para la altura del manto nival y un superávit del 60% para su equivalente en agua, ambos respecto de valores históricos. (Dirección General de Aguas, 2026-10-05)
• En las rutas de Cerro Olivares y Quebrada Larga se presenta un superávit de 463% y 245%, respectivamente. (Dirección General de Aguas, 2026-10-05)
• Al 5 de octubre de 2026 hay almacenados 7.417 millones de m3 de agua y a fines del mismo mes el año pasado había 6.001 millones de m3 por lo que el volumen almacenado ahora es mayor en un 23,6% respecto de octubre de 2025. (Dirección General de Aguas, 2026-10-05)

• On 7 October 2026 the Chilean Senate approved in particular (37-1) Bill 18.259-08 modifying the Mining Code and Laws 21.420 and 21.649 to eliminate the progressive mining patent collection system, establish fixed rates of 0.4 UTM per hectare generally and 0.1 UTM per hectare reduced for qualifying concessions, increase the surface limit for small producers to 150 hectares and artisanal mining to 100 hectares, and postpone 2026 patent payments until 28 February 2027. (Reporte Minero, 2026-10-08)
• On 7 October 2026 the Chilean Senate approved in particular (37-1) Bill 18.259-08 modifying the Mining Code and Laws 21.420 and 21.649 to eliminate the progressive mining patent collection system, establish fixed rates of 0.4 UTM per hectare generally and 0.1 UTM per hectare reduced for qualifying concessions, increase the surface limit for small producers to 150 hectares and artisanal mining to 100 hectares, eliminate the servidumbres accreditation requirement, and postpone 2026 patent payments until 28 February 2027. (DOE Actualidad Jurídica, 2026-10-09)
• On 22 September 2026 the Juntos por el Perú parliamentary group introduced a bill in Peru’s Congress to amend Law 28258 (mining royalty) so that royalties are calculated on the value of the concentrate or equivalent at international market prices, raise royalty rates to 3% for operational profit between US$60-120 million and 4% above US$120 million, and modify the progressive scale of the special mining tax under Law 29789 to range from 2% to 25%. (Perucontable, 2026-09-22)

• The Primer Tribunal Ambiental de Chile admitted to processing five reclamations (R-191-2026 to R-196-2026) filed by indigenous communities and individuals from Tarapacá against the Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental resolution that approved the continuity operational project of Compañía Minera Cerro Colorado via Declaración de Impacto Ambiental rather than Estudio de Impacto Ambiental with indigenous consultation, citing potential direct impacts on indigenous systems of life and water resources. (Reporte Minero, 2026-10-05)
• The Dirección de Minería de Mendoza issued Resolución 500 on 17 July 2026 approving a new Protocolo de Consulta Previa, Libre e Informada for mining projects affecting indigenous communities with legal personality in the area of influence, stating that the procedure aligns with ILO 169, the Escazú Agreement and provincial law but does not imply a veto right or require unanimous consent. (El Medio, 2026-07-20)
• The Comunidad Atacameña de Coyo filed a recurso de protección before the Corte de Apelaciones de Antofagasta challenging the design of the indigenous consultation process led by Corfo for the Corfo-SQM and Corfo-Tarar lithium contracts in the Salar de Atacama, which concluded dialogue on 8 August 2025 and included commitments such as a Comité de Relaciones Comunitarias y Gobernanza Indígena. (El Desconcierto, 2026-10-01)
• The Colombian Ministerio del Interior issued Resolución STC-0994 on 23 July 2026 determining the procedencia of prior consultation for mining title L4804005 after a field verification visit, rejecting arguments of acquired rights and confirming that neither the mining title, PTI nor environmental license creates an acquired right to exemption from consultation. (Ministerio del Interior de Colombia, 2026-07-23)

• On 29 July 2026 Sernageomin placed the tailings deposits at Planta Delta (ENAMI), Santa Teresa N°2 and Planta Chancón under special monitoring (alerta operativa) and instructed corrective measures including suspension of tailings deposition, cleaning of spilled material and stability evaluations after frontal system inspections. (Reporte Minero, 2026-07-29)
• On 24 July 2026 Sernageomin issued a technical minute stating risk of wall failure at the Planta Delta thickened tailings deposit in Ovalle due to cracking and erosion detected on 21 July, leading SENAPRED to declare a security perimeter. (Reporte Minero, 2026-07-24)
• On 8 October 2026 ANM reduced the emergency level of the B1-A tailings dam of Emicon Mineração e Terraplanagem in Brumadinho from level 2 to level 1. (Notícias de Mineração, 2026-10-08)
• As of 6 October 2026 five of seven tailings dams at the Bom Futuro garimpo in Ariquemes (RO) remained at emergency level 1 per SIGBM data and lacked the required second-semester 2026 stability reports, resulting in embargo status. (CPG Click Petróleo e Gás, 2026-10-06)

• On 21 September 2026, OEFA's Tribunal de Fiscalización Ambiental issued Resolución N° 480-2026-OEFA/TFA-SE declaring the nullity of Resolución Directoral N° 0566-2026-OEFA/DFAI of 30 March 2026 in the part declaring administrative responsibility of Minera Veta Dorada S.A.C. for Conductas Infractoras Nros. 1 and 2 and imposing a fine of 265,113 UIT, due to violation of the principle of tipicidad, and ordering the procedure remanded. (Organismo de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental, 2026-09-21)
• On 28 September 2026, OEFA's Tribunal de Fiscalización Ambiental issued Resolución N° 514-2026-OEFA/TFA-SE confirming the administrative responsibility of Compañía Minera Ares S.A.C. for conducta infractora 1 and the associated fine of 27,404 UIT as declared in Resolución Directoral N° 01365-2024-OEFA/DFAI of 5 July 2024. (Organismo de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental, 2026-09-28)

• On 13 July 2026 the Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental issued favorable Resolución de Calificación Ambiental N° 20260300191 approving the project “Prospección Minera Ternera Fase II”. (Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental, 2026-07-14)
• On 13 August 2026 the Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental issued favorable Resolución de Calificación Ambiental N° 202603001107 approving the project “Optimización Tecnológica y Aumento de Capacidad Productiva en Mina Cerro Negro Norte”. (Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental, 2026-08-14)
• Compañía Minera Punta de Lobos LTDA obtained favorable environmental qualification on 21 September 2026 for its Estudio de Impacto Ambiental. (Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental, 2026-10-06)
• The Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental maintains a public list of ongoing revisions to Resoluciones de Calificación Ambiental for mining projects including Minero Algorta, Lixiviación de Sulfuros Sulfolix, Modificaciones Proyecto Pascua Lama, PROYECTO MINERO QUEBRADA BLANCA FASE 2, Mansa Mina and others. (Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental, 2026-10-02)

• Gains in asset wealth (0.3 standard deviations) coexist with a higher incidence of health conditions linked to heavy metal toxicity: anemia among women (ten percentage points), and stunting in young children (five percentage points). (Journal of Development Economics, 2019-06-01)
• mineral discoveries and productions positively affect primary educational IM in Africa for individuals exposed to the mineral sites and living in districts with mineral discoveries and productions. However, no significant effects are found for secondary/tertiary educational IM. (IMF Working Papers, 2022-07-29)
• a 1% increase in the metal mining price index increases the years of schooling by approximately 0.033% in mining municipalities compared with nonmining municipalities. (Journal of Development Studies, 2025-07-03)
• mineral-dependent low-income and lower-middle-income countries have outperformed their income peers since 2000, particularly when comparing 2007 to 2012, except for education from 2000 to 2010. (World Bank)
• Resource-rich countries in Sub-Saharan Africa spend less on education and health than other countries in the region and less than resource-rich countries in other regions. (World Bank, 2017-05-02)
• Children in these countries are more likely to die before their first birthday, more likely to be stunted, and less likely to attend school than children in other countries with similar income. (World Bank, 2017-05-02)

• This paper delves into the methodology of integrating climate change projections into water balance modelling (WBM) to assess the hydraulic performance of mine pits after closure, with results presented for the hot and arid Pilbara region in Western Australia. (Australian Centre for Geomechanics)
• The Saudi Arid Mine Closure Standard (SAMCS) is a conceptual, future-oriented, integrated, and performance-driven framework that integrates standard closure principles, desert ecosystem typology, and performance-based closure acceptance criteria for mine closure in arid Saudi desert environments. (reference-global.com)
• In arid and semi-arid mining regions, developing pit lakes are predominantly fed by groundwater and initially develop into terminal sinks, but frequently transition to throughflow systems within two decades following cessation of dewatering even under low hydraulic gradients or high net evaporation rates. (Groundwater, 2024-06-03)
• An approach maps climate change risk to mine closure planning and design considerations including pit lake hydrology, landform stability, flooding, revegetation, and acid and metalliferous drainage using indices such as aridity index, rainfall erosivity, annual maximum 1-day precipitation, extreme drought frequency, and drying period duration, demonstrated for mines within Queensland, Australia. (Journal of Cleaner Production)
• Climate variability and change are projected to significantly impact pit lake hydrology through altered precipitation, evaporation, and flood frequency, with modelling of pit lake responses under future climate scenarios essential for robust closure planning in arid zones where pit lakes often become evaporative sinks. (Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies)

• Chinese state-owned lenders provided $12.3 billion in loans from a network of six Chinese state-owned banks and companies to the Las Bambas copper mine in Peru between 2014 and 2023. (AidData, 2025-02-27)
• Las Bambas copper mine produced 322,912 metric tons of copper in 2024. (AidData, 2025-02-27)
• 97% ($16.1 billion) of China’s state-directed transition mineral lending to Peru between 2000 and 2021 supported transition mineral operations which are partially or wholly Chinese-owned. (AidData, 2025-02-27)
• Of the ten Chinese lithium projects analyzed by CICDHA in Latin America, nine present water overexploitation, all have water stress, eight have incomplete environmental studies, six have contamination problems, nine have conflicts with local and indigenous populations, and six lack transparency policies. (Mongabay Latam / El Espectador, 2026-05-23)
• The majority of Chinese companies intervening in the lithium chain in Latin America declare having social, environmental, transparency, and complaint mechanism policies, including Zangge Mining, Zijin Mining, CATL, CMOC, Tianqi Lithium, and BYD. (Mongabay Latam / El Espectador, 2026-05-23)

• Teck confirmed that PFAS is no longer contained in the site's AFFF at Red Dog Mine since 2019, and all old AFFF was fully removed from the site in 2025. (Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, 2026-04-09)
• BHP Iron Ore Pty Ltd has phased out the usage of PFAS-containing compounds across all its operations and so the potential for the future introduction of PFAS-containing compounds and the subsequent release to the environment of PFAS through mining operations is considered to be very low. (EPA Western Australia / BHP, 2026-05-12)
• The US EPA Absaloka South Mine NPDES permit includes a section on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Discharge Reduction BMP. (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2023-10-27)
• To date, there appears to be no official Canada PFAS guidelines for the mining industry. (Stantec)
• BHP's Water (PFAS) Management Plan requires that PFAS concentrations in the combined surplus dewatered groundwater from Orebody 29/30/35 discharged to Ophthalmia Dam and in surface water within Ophthalmia Dam will remain below 30% of the human health (drinking water) guideline value and 10% of the ecological 95% guideline value. (EPA Western Australia / BHP, 2026-05-12)
• The federal government is assessing options through the Crown-Indigenous Working Group for the Potential Oil Sands Mining Effluent Regulations, which expects to complete a draft regulatory framework by the end of this year. (CIM Magazine, 2025-10-02)

• In Chañaral, Chile, street dust near copper mine tailings had arsenic concentrations of 24 ± 13 mg/kg and copper concentrations of 607 ± 911 mg/kg, with arsenic correlating negatively with distance to the tailings (r = −0.32). (Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 2019-05-02)
• In Chañaral, Chile, 31 years after tailings dumping ceased, residents had mean urinary levels of total arsenic 44.6 μg/L, inorganic arsenic 17.0 μg/L, nickel 2.8 μg/L, copper 17.9 μg/L, mercury 1.6 μg/L and lead 0.9 μg/L, exceeding other Chilean and international values. (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2018-11-01)
• Near the largest copper smelter in China, vegetable and rice samples exceeded national limits for Zn, Cr, Ni, Pb, Cd and As, resulting in children's estimated daily intake of heavy metals yielding target hazard quotients indicating high potential non-carcinogenic health risks, with elevated hair and urine metal concentrations. (Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2019-04-30)
• Near the Daye Copper Smelter in China, soils had mean concentrations of Cd 4.87 mg/kg, Cu 195.26 mg/kg, Pb 92.65 mg/kg and As 35.84 mg/kg; health risks to local children were 30.25 times the acceptable level of 1, driven mainly by Cd (46%), As (27%) and Pb (20%). (Environmental Pollution, 2019-02-10)
• In Selebi-Phikwe, Botswana, nickel-copper mine tailings posed high and unacceptable carcinogenic risks to children from Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb exposure and to adults from Cr, Cu and Ni, with children more vulnerable overall. (International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 2024-03-20)
• In Chañaral, Chile, epidemiological studies link urinary metal exposure (arsenic, nickel) to metabolic alterations including increased total cholesterol and glycemia, alongside elevated respiratory health concerns in children. (Sustainability, 2025-08-27)

• Large volumes of water, 100–800 m3 per tonne of lithium carbonate, depending on the deposit, are lost through evaporation in the evaporitic technology for lithium mining from brines. (Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2023-02-23)
• Fresh water consumption of direct lithium extraction (DLE) needs to be urgently quantified; many DLE technologies might require larger freshwater volumes than current evaporative practices, compromising their applicability in arid locations. (Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2023-02-23)
• In the Atacama, evaporation ponds consume approximately 1,900 liters of water per kilogram of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) produced; this water is lost to the atmosphere. (Empower EIT, 2026-09-10)
• DLE operations that return stripped brine to the aquifer preserve the aquifer's water balance in a way that evaporation operations fundamentally cannot, as the brine exits a DLE plant still containing virtually all of the original water volume. (Empower EIT, 2026-09-10)
• The adsorbent-based DLE consumed 13 times more freshwater than IX DLE, while brine evaporation consumed three times more freshwater than IX DLE. (AZoMining, 2026-10-09)
• Higher use of DLE could reduce land use by 20–50% and total water consumption by 32% by 2040 under the aggressive DLE scenario, while carbon dioxide emissions could decline by 44%. (AZoMining, 2026-10-09)

• The International Energy Agency projects that expected mine supply from existing and announced projects covers only about 75% of primary copper requirements in 2035 under its stated policy outlook. (DataM Intelligence, 2026-10-12)
• S&P Global Energy and S&P Global Market Intelligence finds copper supply expected to fall 10 million metric tons short of demand by 2040, a shortage 23.8% shy of the projected demand of 42 million mt by 2040, with supply constraints including lengthy permitting processes that combine with declining ore grades and other factors to limit new mine development. (S&P Global, 2026-01-08)
• The International Energy Agency's Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026 states that based on the project pipeline, the copper supply gap in 2035 has narrowed from around 30% to 25% under today's policy settings. (IEA, 2026-10-15)
• At the FT Commodities Global Summit, industry executives stated that copper’s long-term outlook is constrained by the industry’s limited ability to bring new supply online fast enough to meet structurally rising demand, with permitting delays, higher capital costs and policy risks continuing to slow project development. (Fastmarkets, 2026-05-05)
• S&P Global reports that the average timeline from discovery to production for copper mines spans 17 years, while environmental opposition and judicial reviews further delay projects. (S&P Global, 2026-01-08)
• BloombergNEF states that supply constraints are already visible at mines due to disruptions paired with slow permitting, and estimates the copper shortfall could reach 19 million tonnes by 2050 without new mines or significant gains in scrap collection. (The Northern Miner, 2025-12-17)

• FlyPix AI is a no-code platform that uses artificial intelligence to measure embankment deformation, monitor freeboard and pond extent, detect seepage and wet areas, and flag beach and crest change across satellite, drone, LiDAR, and SAR data. (FlyPix AI, 2026-06-16)
• A joint analysis of InSAR-derived surface deformation and SAR-derived moisture content delineated the stable/unstable status of tailings dams and captured pre-failure signals in cases including the Córrego de Feijão Tailings Dam I in Brazil, identifying a turning point near December 2018 before the January 2019 failure. (Remote Sensing of Environment, 2024-01-01)
• A deep learning architecture called Embedded Entities within Deep Learning (EE-DL) was applied to InSAR data from Sentinel-1 and Radarsat-2 to create an automated early-warning tool for tailings dam instability, demonstrated on the 2018 Cadia failure where anomalous horizontal movement was visible as early as 22 January 2018. (Sentinel Online (ESA))
• The PS-InSAR technique was used to identify large-scale deformation points in the tailings pond area (identification threshold >10 mm/a) and to delineate anomalous deformation zones, integrated with ground sensors and UAV photogrammetry using the YOLOv8 model for automatic identification of potential hazards. (Journal of Mine Automation, 2026-05-18)
• In the Gaowanqiu tailings pond demonstration, coordinated monitoring by ground, UAV, and satellite enabled multidimensional sensing of millimeter-level internal deformation, centimeter-level surface morphology, and large-scale deformation, with monitoring frequency reaching 1 time/min and mean average precision of UAV hazard identification ≥90%. (Journal of Mine Automation, 2026-05-18)
• Roboflow vision AI uses computer vision models trained on facility-specific data to detect tension cracks, scarps, slumping, seepage, wet spots, and changes in freeboard or beach length from fixed cameras, drone imagery, and satellite scenes for tailings dam and slope monitoring. (Roboflow)

• Two unions at Antofagasta Minerals' Centinela copper mine in Chile began a work stoppage on October 7, 2026, after collective contract negotiations failed, with unions reporting that the number of trucks operating at the mine had been cut in half. (Reuters, 2026-10-13)
• BHP sued the workers' union at its Spence copper mine in Chile over two production stoppages in June and July 2026 that it deems illegal and that significantly affected mine operations. (Reuters, 2026-10-15)
• A labor stoppage that began on September 18, 2026, at First Majestic Silver's San Dimas mine in Mexico turned into a strike on October 8, 2026, shutting down the mine with 1,800 direct workers. (BNamericas, 2026-10-14)
• Informal miners in Peru blocked parts of an important copper corridor in Chumbivilcas Province, Cusco, in July 2025, preventing trucks from large-scale mines including MMG's Las Bambas from passing. (World Energy News, 2025-07-02)
• Supervisors at BHP's Escondida copper mine in Chile approved an eleventh-hour compensation package on October 15, 2026, averting a threatened strike after rejecting the company's final offer. (Mining News, 2026-10-15)
• Unions at Antofagasta Minerals' Centinela mine in Chile restarted negotiations on October 13, 2026, under voluntary mediation to resolve a week-long work stoppage that began October 7 after contract talks failed. (Reuters, 2026-10-13)

• Compañía Minera Doña Inés de Collahuasi obtained environmental approval to postpone reductions in water extraction from the Coposa basin in the Tarapacá region, delaying cuts scheduled to begin in January 2025 by 18 months until mid-2026 due to delays in its desal plant construction. (Chile País Minero, 2026-10-15)
• The Ministry of Public Works extended drought scarcity decrees for the provinces of Elqui, Limarí and Choapa in the Coquimbo region for 12 months in September 2026, citing severe structural drought despite recent rainfall. (Madero, 2026-09-09)
• Chile's Atacama Desert is experiencing a prolonged drought now in its 14th year, which has cut reservoir capacity to about 30%. (S&P Global)
• Northern Chile faces more than a decade of structural water stress, prompting major miners including Codelco, BHP, Antofagasta Minerals and Anglo American to accelerate desalination projects and seawater use in Antofagasta and Atacama regions. (REDIMIN, 2026-05-21)
• Copper mining in Chile reduced continental water extraction by 7% to 13.94 m³/s in 2025 while increasing seawater use by 4.6% to 8.11 m³/s, according to Cochilco data covering 52 operations. (Construnoticias, 2026-10-02)
• Regulatory restrictions on groundwater extraction to protect wetlands contributed to significantly lower output at BHP's Cerro Colorado mine, while water shortages linked to the prolonged drought reduced production at Anglo American's Los Bronces mine by as much as 44%. (S&P Global)

• In Salar del Hombre Muerto, Catamarca, the Atacameños del Altiplano community has spent 25 years fighting to save their water after lithium mining dried up the Trapiche River, with the Fenix mine consuming an estimated 7.2 million liters per day and ten more projects proposed. (Mott Foundation, 2026-10-06)
• Thirty-three Indigenous communities in the Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guayatayoc basin have undertaken legal actions since 2010 demanding Free, Prior and Informed Consent under ILO Convention 169 for lithium projects, with a Supreme Court amparo accepted in 2025 seeking precautionary suspension of exploration until cumulative environmental standards are met. (Cultural Survival, 2026-09-15)
• Over 100 residents from El Alto, Ancasti and Frías in Catamarca organized a community assembly on 14 October 2026 opposing lithium pegmatite mining due to lack of prior consultation, violation of the Native Forest Law and risks to the Río Albigasta water basin. (La Política Ambiental, 2026-10-14)
• Indigenous communities of Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guayatayoc, supported by FARN, obtained a Jujuy Supreme Court ruling affirming their right to public environmental information on lithium and borate mining claims in their territories. (IWGIA, 2026-10-13)
• In Catamarca's Salar del Hombre Muerto, a provincial court ruling in 2026 lifted a precautionary measure protecting the Río Los Patos sub-basin, enabling new lithium exploration permits despite ongoing community demands for consultation and environmental impact assessment. (Ruido, 2026-04-01)
• Lition Energy obtained an exploration permit for the Agonic Mine in 2023 after consulting only one of two directly impacted Atacama and Kolla communities, with a subsequent court ruling upholding the process as valid. (Mongabay, 2025-09-10)

• In 2026, Peruvian authorities conducted 201 operativos against illegal mining in Madre de Dios, including one recent operation that destroyed at least 100 dragas and 200 campamentos within Reserva Nacional Tambopata. (EL COMERCIO PERÚ, 2026-10-12)
• The Andean Community ruled that Peru must urgently reform its laws to curb illegal gold mining and mercury trafficking, giving the country 20 working days to comply or face possible referral to the bloc’s Tribunal of Justice. (AP News, 2025-10-07)
• From 2017 to 2026, over 1,500 mining dredges were detected or documented in the Amazonian rivers of Peru’s Loreto region, with over 700 identified in the 2025–2026 period alone. (MAAP, 2026-08-16)
• In August 2026, Peruvian military forces launched Operation Mercury 2, storming illegal gold mining camps in Tambopata National Park as part of efforts to remove miners from the protected area. (ABC News, 2026-08-14)
• An estimated 180 tons of mercury are discharged annually in the Madre de Dios region due to illegal gold mining. (NHK WORLD-JAPAN News, 2026-05-20)
• A Mongabay Latam investigation found that 78% of 3,380 hair samples from people in 102 communities along the Madre de Dios river exceeded the World Health Organization limit for mercury. (EL COMERCIO PERÚ, 2026-10-12)

• In August 2026, communities from Conceição do Mato Dentro, Alvorada de Minas, Serro and Dom Joaquim in Brazil blockaded a road protesting Anglo American’s tailings dam terrorism at the Minas-Rio project following unauthorised siren activations. (London Mining Network, 2026-10-09)
• Brazil’s Minas Gerais State Court of Auditors suspended the licensing process for Anglo American Minas-Rio System’s second heightening of the tailings dam in Conceição do Mato Dentro in August 2025 because residents remain in the Self-Rescue Zone. (Kallanish, 2025-08-18)
• Chile’s environmental court ordered Minera Ojos del Salado to backfill the Alcaparrosa sinkhole, implement an aquifer recharge program, transfer groundwater rights, and fund potable and wastewater infrastructure for Tierra Amarilla in 2025. (Skillings Mining Review, 2025-10-01)
• Brazil’s National Mining Agency issued Interdiction Order No. 111/2026 halting mining activities at Sigma Mineração’s Cava Norte due to imminent risk of slope failure on the east wall. (Observatório da Mineração, 2026-10-08)
• Communities and civil society organizations in the Dominican Republic filed two amparos in 2025 seeking an immediate halt to Barrick’s construction of the Naranjo tailings dam and cancellation of related permits. (Earthworks, 2025-07-22)
• Chile’s Primer Tribunal Ambiental admitted to process five claims in October 2026 against the Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental resolution rejecting administrative challenges to the environmental qualification of Compañía Minera Cerro Colorado’s operational continuity project. (Electrominería, 2026-10-02)

• The new mining royalty regime under Ley N° 21.591 entered into force on 1 January 2024 for large-scale copper producers exceeding 50,000 TMCF, with a 1% ad-valorem component and progressive rates of 8% to 26% based on operational mining margin. (MEDIABANCO Agencia de Noticias, 2026-10-15)
• On 8 October 2026 the Senate approved in particular by 37 votes in favor and 1 against the bill (Boletín N° 18.259-08) amending the Código de Minería and laws 21.420 and 21.649 on amparo minero and patents, advancing it to third constitutional reading in the Chamber of Deputies. (Senado República de Chile, 2026-10-08)
• The Senate-approved reform eliminates the progressive patent charge regime introduced in 2022 and establishes fixed rates of 0.4 UTM per hectare for inactive concessions and 0.1 UTM per hectare for those demonstrating work or exploration. (Reporte Minero, 2026-10-08)
• The bill includes a transitional provision postponing payment of 2026 mining patents until 28 February 2027 and deferring associated auctions. (DOE | Actualidad Jurídica, 2026-10-09)
• Executive indications approved in the Senate expand the special reduced-patent regime for small-scale mining to 150 hectares (from 100) and for artisanal mining to 100 hectares (from 50), while removing the requirement to prove servidumbres. (Reporte Minero, 2026-10-05)

• Aymara communities filed five claims in Chile's First Environmental Court in October 2026 against BHP's Cerro Colorado prospection project of 196 sondajes, citing inadequate area of influence, effects on water resources, and indigenous participation. (REDIMIN, 2026-10-06)
• Chile's Second Environmental Court ruled on May 15, 2026, to annul the environmental permit for the US$3.2 billion Collahuasi operational continuity project due to insufficient justification and inadequate consideration of citizen participation comments from indigenous associations. (BNamericas, 2026-05-18)
• Glencore's Antapaccay expansion (Coroccohuayco) in Peru faces ongoing court challenges in 2025-2026 from communities Pacopata and Huini Coroccohuayco over exclusion from prior consultation processes. (Fair Finance International)
• Peru's government ordered a new review of Southern Copper's Tia Maria project in April 2026, revoking prior authorization amid long-standing opposition over pollution and water contamination fears. (Mining Weekly, 2026-04-13)
• An investigation published in May 2026 linked Anglo American's Quellaveco mine in Peru to water scarcity and contamination affecting local communities. (Mongabay, 2026-05-26)
• The roundtable for Chinalco's Toromocho mine in Peru, addressing displacement of Morococha, remains stalled and extended until 2026. (Dialogue Earth, 2025-10-17)

• Corfo contracts approved by Comptroller General in December 2025 for SQM and Codelco operations in Salar de Atacama require gradual reduction then elimination of continental water use, adoption of cleaner technologies, and submission of an Environmental Impact Study for the Salar Futuro project in the second half of 2026. (Latin Business Daily, 2025-12-19)
• Novandino Litio (Codelco-SQM joint venture) proposes a transition of about seven years to phase out continental freshwater use in Salar de Atacama operations, replacing it with recovered process water, with the Environmental Impact Study submitted to Chile’s SEIA in mid-2026. (The Rio Times, 2026-08-02)
• Chile’s Mining Policy 2050 limits continental water use in mining to 10% by 2025, and upcoming amendments to the Mining Code require desalination for projects exceeding 150 litres per second. (Mining Technology, 2025-05-29)
• Albemarle holds water rights of 23.5 L/s granted by the DGA for its Salar de Atacama operations and, per a December 12, 2024 agreement on environmental damage, must cease extracting water for production purposes from wells in the Salar de Atacama basin 40 months after the agreement signature. (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2026-02-11)
• Albemarle’s Transition to Direct Lithium Extraction (TED) project in Salar de Atacama, with EIA submitted March 2026, is designed to complement current production without requiring an increase in the authorized volumes of brine extraction or new evaporation ponds. (MEDIABANCO Agencia de Noticias, 2026-03-25)
• Albemarle’s current Salar de Atacama freshwater consumption is 16.9 L/s out of 23.5 L/s authorized rights from wells in Tilopozo, Tucucaro and Peine. (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2026-02-11)

• Social scientists assessed SLO in Canaã dos Carajás using the Boutilier and Thomson SLO scale method, finding the level at Acceptance with an average score of 3.63 ± 0.87 on a Likert scale. (Resources Policy, 2021-12-01)
• In the integrative model of community acceptance of mining, procedural fairness was the strongest predictor of trust in the mining company. (Resources Policy, 2014-03-01)
• Quality of contact between company and community, not quantity, predicted trust in a longitudinal study of an Australian mining region. (Resources Policy, 2014-03-01)
• Procedural fairness, company-community interactions, and improvements in social infrastructure were positively related to community trust in the mining company in a Brazilian Amazon study. (Resources Policy, 2021-12-01)
• Negative impacts on the economy and environment negatively affected community acceptance and approval of the mining company and its project in Canaã dos Carajás. (Resources Policy, 2021-12-01)
• Governance was the strongest predictor of societal social licence to operate for extractive industries across Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela in a 2021 survey of 6,806 respondents. (Ecological Economics, 2023-11-01)

• Water stress was determined by the proportion of the overall water consumed in mining within a basin in relation to basin-specific water availability. (MDPI, 2021-11-26)
• A modified six-step evaluation method for the response mechanism of shallow groundwater in multi-mine mining is proposed using mathematical statistics, numerical simulation, and theoretical analysis methods. (MDPI, 2024-02-28)
• A hydrological model was developed that incorporates estimates of future selenium loading, water use, and projected changes in air temperature and precipitation to evaluate changes in water quantity and quality. (Science of The Total Environment, 2022-02-01)
• Techniques were developed to assess the probable cumulative impacts of anticipated surface mining upon the hydrology of an area using an activity profile of cumulative drainage area versus river miles downstream from the surface mining site, an impact matrix, and simple or comprehensive models to quantify the impacts. (U.S. Geological Survey, 1982-01-01)

• The authors define the status of artisanal mining based on the degree of rule compliance and the willingness of state actors to enforce such compliance: it is legal when the miners have formal permits to operate and follow state rules to mine, but it is illegal when the mining takes places in restricted natural reserves and noncompliance with state mining rules is extensive. (World Politics)
• This paper explores the utility of Landsat-5 imagery via decision tree classification to determine ASM locations in Madre de Dios; spectral mixture analysis was used to unmix Landsat imagery, using WorldView and QuickBird imagery to aid spectral endmember selection and validate ASM maps; the ASM maps had an overall area-weighted accuracy of 96% and indicated a large proportion of illicit ASM activity (~65% of all ASM in the study area) occurring outside the permitted concessions. (Remote Sensing Letters, 2014-10-20)
• Considering three key criteria, twelve different modes were identified for alluvial gold mining beyond labels such as informal, illegal, artisanal, traditional or ancestral. (Yeiyá, 2020-12-27)
• All detected garimpo sites were classified as either showing explicit signs of illegality or no explicit signs of illegality, relying exclusively on the garimpo extraction site position versus the geolocation and license type recorded on the SIGMINE platform. (Nature Communications, 2024-11-13)
• In Colombia, ASM is classified into three different categories: small-scale mining, traditional mining, and subsistence mining. (The Extractive Industries and Society, 2022-12-01)

• Economists measure local procurement benefits in mining using input-output analysis to estimate regional economic impacts from increasing local supply of backward commodities in the supply chain, as illustrated for the Missouri stone mining and quarrying sector where 89 backward commodities were identified. (The Extractive Industries and Society, 2017-07-01)
• In Zambia, researchers map mining sector economic linkages and multipliers using VAT and tax data on acquisitions by mining companies to analyze formal economic multipliers at local, regional, national, and international levels. (International Growth Centre, 2023-03-08)
• A World Gold Council study of 15 members found that out of USD 55 billion total annual spending in 2012, USD 35 billion went to payments to other businesses for subcontracting and procurement, compared to less than USD 10 billion in royalties and taxes. (OECD Development Matters, 2018-01-31)
• In Zambia, ICMM analysis of four mining companies showed estimated annual procurement of USD 3 billion in goods and services, with 80% appearing locally procured but only 5% (USD 87 million) actually manufactured locally after accounting for imports by local agents. (OECD Development Matters, 2018-01-31)
• The Mining Local Procurement Reporting Mechanism (LPRM) provides a standardized framework of disclosures for mine sites to report on local procurement spend, supplier categories, and performance to enable measurement, management, and comparability across projects. (Mining Shared Value)
• Methodological challenges in measuring local content include varying definitions of 'local' suppliers across ownership, location, and value addition; difficulties distinguishing imported versus locally manufactured goods in reported procurement; and limited data on supply capabilities and actual economic multipliers. (Engineers Without Borders Canada / Mining Shared Value)

• IFC’s Performance Standards establish standards that the client is to meet throughout the life of an investment by IFC, covering Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts, Labor and Working Conditions, Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention, Community Health, Safety, and Security, Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement, Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources, Indigenous Peoples, and Cultural Heritage. (International Finance Corporation, 2012-01-01)
• The African Development Bank Group presents its Integrated Safeguards System, a cornerstone of its strategy to promote growth that is socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable. (African Development Bank, 2014-01-08)
• The IDB’s Environmental and Social Policy Framework consists of ten Environmental and Social Performance Standards together with a policy statement. (Inter-American Development Bank)
• The Equator Principles are intended to serve as a common baseline and risk management framework for financial institutions to identify, assess and manage environmental and social risks when financing Projects. (Equator Principles Association)
• The World Bank Environmental and Social Framework sets out the World Bank’s commitment to sustainable development, through a Bank policy and a set of environmental and social standards that are designed to support Borrowers’ projects. (World Bank, 2017-01-01)
• The Asian Development Bank applies its Environmental and Social Framework, which includes ten Environmental and Social Standards. (Asian Development Bank)

• Engineers classify tailings dam risk using consequence classification systems such as those in GISTM, ICOLD Bulletin 194, ANCOLD and CDA, with categories Low, Significant, High, Very High and Extreme determined by factors including population at risk, potential loss of life, environmental impact, health/social/cultural effects and infrastructure/economic losses. (ICOLD, 2022-11-16)
• ICOLD Bulletin 194 states that dam consequence classification supplements national frameworks and informs design loading criteria, dam safety stewardship and management programs. (ICOLD, 2022-11-16)
• The upstream construction method is the lowest initial cost and most popular design for raised tailings embankments in low-risk seismic areas, but it is the most common design to fail and is particularly susceptible to static or seismic liquefaction when tailings are saturated. (tailings.info)
• The downstream construction method was developed to reduce risks associated with the upstream method, particularly under dynamic earthquake loading, by building each raise on compacted fill rather than tailings and allowing unrestricted heights though at higher cost and larger footprint. (tailings.info)
• Upstream construction builds each new dam lift on previously deposited tailings making it cost-effective but highly sensitive to tailings strength, saturation and drainage, with high risk of liquefaction in seismic or high-rainfall areas; downstream construction builds raises outward on compacted earth or rockfill for greater stability but higher cost. (African Engineering Services, 2025-11-06)
• Centreline construction is a compromise between upstream and downstream methods, raising the crest vertically with material placed on both tailings and the existing embankment, offering better stability than upstream and lower material volume than downstream. (tailings.info)

• The research used quantitative and qualitative methods: quantitative involved analysis of 37 consultation agreements in the oil and mining sectors between 2011 and 2022 from the Vice-Ministry of Intercultural Affairs database to quantify duration, participants, and commitments; qualitative consisted of 40 semi-structured interviews with indigenous leaders, state officials, and NGOs; data analysis used three indicators of level of political involvement, level of social demands, and level of FPIC appropriation. (Sage Journals, 2024-09-27)
• Through a qualitative assessment of six mining projects under the federal Impact Assessment Act, 2019 and the BC Environmental Assessment Act, 2018, documents were coded on NVivo into three perspectives (Indigenous peoples, project proponent, implementing agency) to visualize patterns in FPIC operationalization, degree of consent, consultation method, and extent of joint decision-making. (University of Calgary, 2025-11-26)
• Data collection for the comparative study encompassed an extensive literature review, content analysis of national legislation and regulatory frameworks, and compilation of case studies based on a meta-analysis of previous scientific case studies across Canada, Guatemala, and Peru. (ScienceDirect, 2023-09-01)
• The study draws on qualitative methods combining 10 semi-structured stakeholder interviews with analysis of 46 practitioner sources (standards documents, reports, briefings, articles, websites, webinars), using document analysis and NVivo-based abductive thematic coding to assess how voluntary sustainability standards uphold FPIC. (Lund University)
• Data for the case study with Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation were generated through document review, nine semi-structured key-informant interviews with LS/CFN staff, four community focus groups with 46 participants, and general observations over two years, analyzed with hybrid coding using themes from a preliminary evaluative framework. (ScienceDirect, 2025-09-01)
• Using a qualitative study design consisting of a series of interviews with relevant actors, the study explored meanings ascribed to each component of FPIC and approaches to incorporate it in mining sector decisions in Canada. (Taylor & Francis, 2020-01-02)

• Derivation of sustainable yield using conservation of mass principles leads to expressions for basin sustainable, partial (non-sustainable) mining and total (non-sustainable) mining yields that can be readily determined using numerical modelling methods and selected on the basis of applied constraints. (Hydrogeology Journal, Springer Nature, 2005-02-25)
• In many semi-arid and arid environments groundwater systems cannot be sensibly developed using a sustained yield policy particularly where ecological constraints are applied. (Hydrogeology Journal, Springer Nature, 2005-02-25)
• The long-term yield of a groundwater system is the largest quantity of capture that can be achieved without undesired impacts. (National Academy of Engineering, 2014-04-14)
• One misconception is that the development of groundwater is considered to be safe if the pumping rate does not exceed the rate of natural recharge; another is that the sustainable pumping rate has nothing to do with natural recharge, but depends on the increased recharge and decreased discharge (called capture) induced by pumping. (Journal of Hydrology, 2009-05-30)
• The truth is that both the natural recharge and dynamic development of the capture determine the safe yield or sustainable yield of a groundwater basin. (Journal of Hydrology, 2009-05-30)
• Sustainable discharge rates are calculated using standardized approaches similar to those described in USGS aquifer test methodology, with mathematical models such as the Theis equation or Cooper-Jacob method often applied to interpret pumping test results. (The Groundwater Company, 2026-02-19)

• The Dirección General de Aguas (DGA) of Chile maintains the Red Hidrométrica Nacional comprising 4,397 stations that deliver real-time information on precipitation, snow, reservoirs, and other variables across the country. (Dirección General de Aguas (via portalmetropolitano.cl), 2026-05-14)
• DGA Chile operates visualizers including the Visualizador Hidrométrico Nacional that allow review of precipitation, snow, and reservoir volume data. (Dirección General de Aguas)
• SENAMHI operates the OASIS system for monitoring and forecasting hydrological droughts in Peru through the Índice de Anomalía de Caudal (AC) on sub-basins. (SENAMHI)
• SENAMHI produces monthly Boletín de Sequía Meteorológica reports using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and other metrics for drought monitoring across Peru. (SENAMHI)
• The Observatorio de Nieve de los Andes, operated by IANIGLA-CONICET with Universidad de Chile and (CR)2, provides daily MODIS-based snow cover extent and snowline data for Andean watersheds in Argentina and Chile. (IANIGLA-CONICET / Observatorio de Nieve de los Andes)
• IANIGLA-CONICET and partners developed the Portal Hidroclimático integrating satellite imagery, surface stations, and models for real-time monitoring of snow accumulation, precipitation, and flows in Mendoza watersheds. (IANIGLA-CONICET, 2026-10-06)

• OEFA publishes sanctions information through the Registro Único de Infractores Ambientales Sancionados (RUIAS) section of the Portal Interactivo de Fiscalización Ambiental (PIFA), which lists sanctioned entities, reoffenders, fines, infractions, and expedition details updated quarterly. (Organismo de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental (OEFA), 2026-06-18)
• The Portal de Fiscalización Ambiental (PIFA) provides access to interventions data for compliance monitoring, searchable by area of interest, fiscalizable units, and administrados. (Organismo de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental (OEFA))
• OEFA maintains the Mapa de Gestión Socioambiental within PIFA to display georeferenced information on socioenvironmental conflicts monitored by the agency and actions taken. (Organismo de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental (OEFA), 2026-06-18)
• Community grievances and environmental complaints are handled and records accessible via the Servicio Nacional de Denuncias Ambientales (SINADA) platform, including a public searcher for denuncias status by code, location, or keywords. (Organismo de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental (OEFA))
• The RUIAS in PIFA covers extractive sectors under OEFA competence such as mining (medium and large scale), hydrocarbons, and electricity, with details on sanctioned administrados and units. (Plataforma del Estado Peruano, 2026-09-21)
• SINADA allows submission and tracking of denuncias for alleged non-compliance in sectors including mining, hydrocarbons, and electricity, with referrals to other entities when outside direct OEFA competence. (Plataforma del Estado Peruano, 2026-10-13)

• Ley N° 28258 establishes the mining royalty as an economic consideration paid by mining concession holders for exploiting metallic and non-metallic mineral resources, calculated quarterly on operating profit (sales income minus cost of sales and operating expenses). (Presidencia del Consejo de Ministros)
• Under Ley N° 28258, 100% of mining royalty revenue is distributed as: 20% to district governments where the resource is exploited (50% of that to communities), 20% to provincial governments, 40% to departmental municipal governments, 15% to regional governments, and 5% to national universities in the departments. (Presidencia del Consejo de Ministros)
• Article 22 of Ley 24.196 (updated text) provides that provinces adhering to the mining investment regime may not charge royalties exceeding 3% on the 'boca mina' value of extracted mineral (or up to 5% for projects not under construction before the article's entry into force). (argentina.gob.ar)
• Ley N° 21.591, published in Diario Oficial Edición Núm. 43.624 of August 2023 and effective 1 January 2024, creates the 'Royalty Minero' tax applicable to large-scale copper miners (over 50,000 metric tons fine copper annual sales equivalent), with a 1% ad-valorem component on copper sales plus a progressive rate of 8% to 26% on mining operating margin, subject to a maximum combined tax burden of 46.5%. (FAOLEX)
• Law 2056 of 2020 regulates the general royalties system for non-renewable resources including mining, with revenue distributed 20% to producing departments/municipalities and ports, 15% to poorest municipalities, 34% to regional investment projects, 10% to science/technology/innovation, and smaller shares for environment and administration. (International Energy Agency)
• The Mexican Mining Law (last reformed DOF 08-05-2023) is the primary statute regulating exploration, exploitation and beneficiation of minerals, with fiscal elements including surface fees and additional payments governed by the Ley Federal de Derechos (7.5% additional profits tax on mineral sales income and 0.5% extraordinary royalty on gold/silver/platinum). (Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión)

• Cochilco publishes annual reports on water extraction and consumption in copper mining with regional breakdowns for Antofagasta (e.g., 11,045.8 l/s total in 2025) and Atacama (e.g., 1,695.6 l/s total in 2025) based on the Encuesta Minera de Producción, Agua y Energía covering nearly all operations. (Comisión Chilena del Cobre (Cochilco))
• Cochilco's open data portal at datos.gob.cl provides downloadable datasets on mining water consumption including files for continental water consumption by region, extraction by source and region, and recirculation rates, sourced from Cochilco surveys. (Portal de Datos Abiertos Chile)
• The Dirección General de Aguas (DGA) is referenced as the source for water use data in mining, with Cochilco reports noting DGA oversight of extractions and fiscalization alongside the Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente. (Consejo Minero)
• Cochilco's 2025 water consumption report details operational consumption (18.21 m³/s nationally) and extractions by region, derived from surveys of 52 operations representing 100% of national copper production. (Comisión Chilena del Cobre (Cochilco))
• Consejo Minero maintains a Plataforma de Aguas with aggregated extraction data from member companies (gran minería), including regional and basin-level figures for northern Chile, cross-referenced to DGA and Cochilco sources. (Consejo Minero)

• Peru is the only one with complete information on prior consultation procedures among the three countries examined (Bolivia, Mexico, Peru), maintained by the Ministry of Culture. (Sage Journals, 2018-12-01)
• Bolivia lacks official databases regarding prior consultation procedures for mining and hydrocarbon projects. (Sage Journals, 2018-12-01)
• Mexico's Secretariat of Energy has published results of prior consultations. (Sage Journals, 2018-12-01)
• Falleti and Riofrancos published a database with data on prior consultation results for hydrocarbon projects in Bolivia. (Sage Journals, 2018-12-01)
• The Legal Cultures of the Subsoil Database is an open-access bilingual repository compiling legal and legal-like actions in mining conflicts in Central America and Mexico, available at https://legalculturessubsoil.ilcs.sas.ac.uk. (The Legal Cultures of the Subsoil)
• The Observatory of Mining Conflicts in Latin America and the Environmental Justice Atlas are databases on conflicts over mining and hydrocarbon projects in Latin America. (Sage Journals, 2018-12-01)

• SERNAGEOMIN publishes lists of mining concession constitution under Código de Minería Art. 90 by region on its asistencia técnica page. (SERNAGEOMIN)
• SERNAGEOMIN publishes results of specific processes such as patente minera rebajada via Resolución Exenta N°2365 dated 11 November 2025 and linked Excel summaries on its site. (SERNAGEOMIN, 2025-11-13)
• SERNAGEOMIN maintains a GobiernoTransparente portal section listing acts and resolutions with effects on third parties, including sanctions for safety mining regulation breaches, with links to documents. (SERNAGEOMIN)
• Mining project permit applications and trámites are processed via the Registro de Proyectos Mineros online platform, but decisions are issued as individual Resoluciones Exentas without a central public searchable decisions database indicated. (SERNAGEOMIN)
• Incident investigation details such as corrective measures or technical reports are referenced in SERNAGEOMIN communications or released case-by-case, with no dedicated public incident investigations repository found. (Revista Digital Minera REDIMIN, 2026-10-09)
• Environmental compliance reports fall primarily under SMA jurisdiction; SERNAGEOMIN handles mining safety permits and may reference environmental permits as prerequisites in project approvals. (SERNAGEOMIN, 2026-09-22)

• SEMARNAT maintains the Inventario Homologado Preliminar de Presas de Jales, updated in March 2024 to list 568 tailings dams with details on location, company, status and waste type. (SEMARNAT, 2024-08-23)
• The SIGBM system of Brazil's ANM provides real-time public data on mining dams including technical characteristics, waste type, conservation state, potential damage, classification and stability declarations. (ANM)
• ANM publishes monthly boletins and quarterly reports on the situation of mining dams in Brazil, including those in Rio Grande do Sul. (ANM, 2026-01-06)

• The DGA publishes the Registro Público de Derechos de Aprovechamientos de Aguas on its website at https://dga.mop.gob.cl/servicios-de-informacion/catastro-publico-de-aguas/registro-publico-de-derechos-de-aprovechamientos-de-aguas/, which contains information on all constituted or recognized water use rights and their transfers. (Dirección General de Aguas)
• Registered water rights data is available via regional Excel files and a national consolidated file updated monthly at https://dga.mop.gob.cl/derechos-de-agua/derechos-registrados/, with the most recent cutoff date of 04/09/2026. (Dirección General de Aguas)
• Groundwater level monitoring data for aquifers, including in northern mining regions such as Pampa del Tamarugal and Río Copiapó, is published in periodic DGA informes such as https://dga.mop.gob.cl/uploads/sites/13/2024/06/Informe_Noviembre_2023.pdf. (Dirección General de Aguas, 2024-06-14)
• Statistical reports on hydrometric station data including fluviometric, meteorologic, and groundwater variables from the national network are available at https://dga.mop.gob.cl/estadisticas-estaciones-dga/. (Dirección General de Aguas)
• New piezometric monitoring wells for aquifers in mining-relevant areas like Maricunga, Laguna Verde, and Llano de Piedra Pómez in Atacama will provide public online data once operational, as announced in DGA news. (Dirección General de Aguas, 2025-10-14)