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<DIV>In searching <A href="http://www.google.cl">www.google.cl</A> I could only
find one pertinent article, dated 30 December 2005 by Paulina Hidalgo. In
her article she does state the worst case scenario as quoted by Deputy Guido
Girardi: "...las empresas mineras Copiapó y Geotérmica del Norte -ésta
última de propiedad de Codelco y Enap- presentaron recientemente al Ministerio
de Minería dos proyectos de prospección con miras a extraer energía geotérmica
de la zona..." Translation: "...the mining publications Copiapo
and Geothermal of the North-- this last one property of Codelco and Enap-
recently presented to the Ministry of Mining two prospective projects with
intentions of extracting geothermal engergy from the zone..."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Deputy Girardi goes on to cite an existing law which he calls "la Ley de
Bases del Medio Ambiente"-- the "Law of the Basis of the Mid-Environment"-- (I
take this to mean "balanced") which will be in violation if the projects go
forward. Ms. Hidalgo then says:
<P>"Las exploraciones implicarían el ingreso de maquinarias y herramientas a un
total de 11.400 hectáreas de una zona que cada año recibe la visita de más de
cien mil turistas chilenos y extranjeros. De ahí que además del daño
medioambiental, Girardi subrayara que las perforaciones acarrearían “la pérdida
de una cuota de recursos que no se comparan con la cifra limitada de impuestos
que genera la minería”. " Translation: "The explorations would imply
the arrival of machinery and tools to the total area of 11,400 hectares of a
region that each year receives more than 100,000 chilean and foreign
tourists. From then on as far as the environmental damage, Girardi
emphasizes, the drilling holes would cause "the loss of a quantity of resources
that does not compare to the limited amount of duty/taxes (=money) that the
mining would generate."</P></DIV>
<DIV>Oscar Santelices, the Chilean National Tourism Service is then quoted as
being "extremely worried" that these projects put at risk a national tourism
icon. "Every time we promote our tourist destinations internationally, the
geysers provoke great interest."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The article ends with this statement:
<P>"La autoridad indicó que espera que el Ministerio de Minería “se acerque a
preguntarnos nuestra opinión, porque de inmediato les diremos que rechacen estas
iniciativas”.</P>
<P>Translation: "The authority (from the National Tourism Service)
indicated that it hopes that the Ministry of Mining comes and asks us our
opinion, because immediately we will tell them to reject these initiatives."
</P>
<P><!--/TEXTarticulo-->Maybe a letter or letters to the Chilean Ministry of
Mining would be the appropriate method of voicing an opinion since it sounds
like they are the ones to make final decisions. If they've already issued
a permit for drilling I couldn't find it in my search, but that doesn't mean
anything. I am more than happy to translate and I'm sure I can find
out where to send mail to. </P>
<P>Mario Durrant</P></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=TSBryan@aol.com href="mailto:TSBryan@aol.com">TSBryan@aol.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=geysers@wwc.edu
href="mailto:geysers@wwc.edu">geysers@wwc.edu</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, January 13, 2006 6:55
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Geysers] Tatio energy
exploration</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<DIV>In a message dated 1/13/2006 4:23:29 PM Pacific Standard Time, <A
href="mailto:caverns@gmail.com">caverns@gmail.com</A> writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<P>I received the following email today concerning El Tatio and Puchuldiza
Geysers, Chile. My understanding --from reading the Santiago newspaper
online for the last several months-- is that the government has issued a
license for immediate geothermal exploration at El Tatio (and presumably
from the email, Puchuldiza too). A <A title=http://www.google.cl/
href="http://www.google.cl/">www.google.cl</A> search for "Tatio" will
find a few relevant stories.</FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV>Not good at all, obviously. However, since I don't read Spanish, might it
be possible for somebody to provide a translation or two?</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<P>I am sure that the sender would be happy to hear from anyone interested
in the situation.</FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV>Will do, although i'm not sure who we _really_ need to write to.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Scott Bryan</DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT>
<P>
<HR>
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