A proposed copper mine in Chile’s Valparaíso region has sparked fierce opposition from researchers and local communities who warn it could wipe out a recently discovered population of Andean cats—one of the world’s most endangered felines.
The massive open-pit mining project, called Vizcachitas and owned by Canadian firm Los Andes Copper Ltd., would extract copper and molybdenum from pristine Andean habitat that scientists say has remained largely untouched by human activity. The site is home to an exceptional diversity of plant and animal species, many already facing extinction risks.
“This particular area has remained virtually untouched by human intervention for a long time,” explained Arón Cádiz-Véliz, a biologist at the University of Concepción. “It’s also home to a high diversity of flora and fauna, many of which are in danger of extinction.”
The Andean cat, found only in the high mountains of South America, is considered one of the rarest wild cats in the Americas. The mining site sits within crucial habitat that includes the Rocín River system, which feeds vital wetlands, lagoons, and waterways throughout the upper Putaendo River Basin.
While the mining company promotes the project as essential for meeting global energy transition demands, and government officials have deemed it compatible with wildlife protection, conservationists strongly disagree. Members of the affected Putaendo community are now pushing to have the area declared a protected zone to safeguard this irreplaceable ecosystem and its rare inhabitants.