Cases / Mining / tailings dam · Chile · 2022–2026
Chile's tailings inventory: 601 of 795 deposits inactive, 53 abandoned
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Chile's tailings inventory lists 795 deposits, of which 601 are inactive and 53 abandoned. The number of abandoned deposits was 173 in 2022, and the sources reviewed do not explain the change or report the deposits' environmental condition.
What?
Chile's inventory of 795 tailings deposits lists 601 as inactive and 53 as abandoned. G5 Noticias
Where?
Chile. G5 Noticias
When?
Inventory reported 23 September 2026; abandoned-deposit count given for 2022. G5 Noticias
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
The sources reviewed do not describe how the deposits are classified as inactive or abandoned.
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who
What happened
The record, in order.
G5 Noticias reported in September 2026 that Chile faces the challenge of managing more than 650 tailings deposits no longer in operation.
The report gave 795 deposits in total, of which 601 are inactive and 53 are abandoned.
According to the same report, the number of abandoned deposits was 173 in 2022.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The sources reviewed do not explain why the abandoned count fell from 173 in 2022 to 53.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not name the operators of the inactive or abandoned deposits.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not report contamination or monitoring data for these deposits.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers