• As reported by Fabiola Sifuentes, Vice-President of Health, Security and Environment at Compañía Minera Antamina (Antamina Mining Company), at the Convention “Rumbo a PERUMIN”.

Antamina Mining Company added three more environmental goals to the management of its Ancash-based operations which useful life is expected to extend until 2036 through the Environmental Impact Study Amendment (MEIA) submitted to SENACE (National Environmental Certification Service for Sustainable Investments).

This is what Fabiola Sifuentes, Vice-president of the Health, Safety and Environment of Antamina Mining Company, stated at the conference “Rumbo a PERUMIN”, hosted by the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers (IIMP).

The first environmental goal added by Antamina is related to biodiversity. "This is due to the area surrounding the operations: Next to the Huascaran National Park, very close to the Andes Mountains, and bordered by important and relevant ecosystems for the basin," she said.

The second environmental goal is focused on the circular economy model which involves reutilizing mining waste.

"Here we refer mainly to solid waste, heavy equipment that will cease to be useful at some point, and the generation of waste and tailings. We are looking for a way to dispose of them in an efficient and less risky way," she said.  

And finally, the third environmental goal of this world-class company is related to climate change, which is addressed by Antamina through a two-pronged strategy: one internal and the other external, according to Fabiola Sifuentes.

The internal strategy is oriented to Antamina's decarbonization, which involves a huge challenge such as the use of conventional mining trucks that use fossil fuel. "We are working with expert consultants, institutions and technology manufacturers to help us overcome this challenge," she said.

This strategy also includes the adaptation of all infrastructures for extreme weather conditions such as heavy rainfalls, based on engineering criteria.

As far as the external strategy is concerned, we are working on preventive measures to face extreme changes that may occur and affect business continuity.

"We are working on emergency plans with communities from the area of influence in order to cope with natural events, identifying vulnerable areas and training the population ", she added.

Finally, he stated that in this aspect, the contribution of the mining industry is key since it has the resources and professionals to develop, in conjunction with the government and the academia, preventive plans to help mitigate these extreme climate changes.