A last-minute provision inserted into President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful” budget reconciliation bill would allow Chile’s wealthiest business magnate — and former landlord to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump — to begin mining operations on protected federal lands. Mining at the proposed Minnesota site poses irreversible environmental risks to nearby bodies of freshwater, according to a federal environmental review.
The mining company that stands to benefit, Antofagasta, is owned by the Chilean billionaire Andrónico Luksic, whose family-run conglomerate, the Luksic Group, is the largest business empire in Chile. The parent company operates everything from food processing businesses and banking companies to energy and mining operations.
