Business Enquirer Issue 120 | Collahuasi | Dec'23

TAKING CARE OF TARAPACÁ

COLLAHUASI

TAKING CARE OF TARAPACÁ

One of the largest copper mines in the world, Collahuasi, found in Northern Chile, is taking significant steps in nourishing the future of the local community in which it operates.

Compañía Minera Doña Inés de Collahuasi (Collahuasi) SCM initiative, ‘Let's take care of Tarapacá’, is a reflection of its 25 year commitment to the region and its people.

The initiative runs programmes in education, productive development, culture and heritage, environment, and health, aimed at contributing to improving quality of life and opening new opportunities for the residents of Tarapacá.

COLLAHUASI

PROJECT DIRECTED BY: GARY

SMITH

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY: LAURA WATLING

COLLAHUASI

Of its initiatives, Tarapacá Smile (Tarapacá Sonríe), works to improve the dental health of 300 women in Pica, Pozo Almonte and the coastal edge of Iquique, ultimately impacting the quality of life of its recipients.

Additionally, Tarapacá Smile offers 50 special spaces for women on the waiting list for oral rehabilitation treatment.

Supporting women in the region further, Woman Advances (Mujer Avanza) is a competitive programme which supports 300 female-run businesses in the region.

Helping to promote and develop the micro-businesses, Collahuasi educates the entrepreneurs, providing tools to develop their projects, formalise their businesses, and offer techniques to increase sales sustainably.

Whilst Collahuasi implements its own inhouse sustainable initiatives, Iquique Circular seeks to enhance the circular economy in Iquique, Tarapacá.

This program aims to recover and reuse recyclable waste, establishing a network of clean points to facilitate access to recycling.

It also supports the development of “house-to-house” recyclable collection programs, along with environmental education work with neighbourhoods in the city.

Additionally, it looks to develop infrastructure for the transformation of recyclable materials into new products. Recently, 295 families benefitted from Collohuasi’s Iquique Circular, in a project driven to restore facades and painting of the 18 towers of the housing complex in El Morro, in addition to three others that are part of the Dolores Building.

Giving local businesses an opportunity to bid for work, four were selected to carry out the labour, which will give a new face to the neighbourhood.

Of the project, the Mayor of Iquique, Mauricio Soria, said “Taking care of Iquique is not an exclusive task of the municipality, but rather it is a commitment of all those who live in this city, because it is our environment. I congratulate the residents of El Morro and Collahuasi who make up this alliance, which allows us to seek the common good with the remodelling of this neighbourhood.”

OCA Global

OCA Global is a business group dedicated to Inspection, Certification and Training activities, created with the objective of consolidating itself as the quality reference in the Spanish market, as well as in international markets and as an alternative to the traditional entities in the sector.

OCA Global Chile has four operational Divisions (Industry & NDT - Consulting & Environment - Quality Control & Technical Assistance - Building & Infrastructure). These four Divisions are currently positioned as a reference in the Inspection, Certification and Testing industry, being the company with the highest organic growth in the country. Our broad portfolio of services allows us to provide comprehensive coverage to our clients throughout the life cycle of the industry, proposing solutions for the Mining, Energy, Oil & Gas, Industry, Infrastructure and Automotive sectors. Providing a wide national coverage from Arica to Punta Arenas with 21 operational bases located in strategic points along the national territory.

In 2018, following the operational and technical need of Collahuasi to have companies in the TIC sector (Testing, Inspection & Control) that can develop activities of Factory Inspection - Shop Inspection both Nationally and Internationally, is that OCA GLOBAL Chile is invited in the first instance to join its database of related technical suppliers and subsequently to participate in its various technical bidding processes.

In 2019, OCA GLOBAL Chile was awarded the contract for "Factory inspection services for both local purchase orders and import orders". Which corresponded to a service for the control and verification of the quality and progress

of manufacturing QA/QC that was part of the portfolio of the Vice President of Projects of Collahuasi.

It is worth mentioning that this contract is still active and has been in force for almost sixty (60) months of uninterrupted activity, with the presence of our company through our network of offices in: Spain, Germany, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, China, USA, India, Italy, Japan, among others.

In 2022, OCA GLOBAL Chile was awarded the contract for "Manufacturing inspection services for the CWS Complementary Water Sypply project". Which corresponded to a service for the control and verification of the quality and progress of the manufacturing QA/QC, which was subsequently framed in the "C20+" project, this project allows to increase the life of the mine in twenty (20) more years.

It is worth mentioning that this contract is still active, with almost twenty-two (22) months of uninterrupted activity, with the presence of our company through our network of offices in France, Germany, Japan, Greece and Spain: France, Germany, Japan, Greece and Chile.

OCA GLOBAL, leader in Inspection, Certification and Training, has consolidated its position as a reference in Chile with a remarkable organic growth throughout its years in the country. Its four divisions stand out in the Inspection, Certification and Testing industry, offering comprehensive solutions in Mining, Energy, Oil & Gas, Industry and Infrastructure. After being selected by Collahuasi in 2019, it evidences its relevance in the control and activation of its different projects. With comprehensive presence, OCA GLOBAL Chile stands out as a strategic partner in the quality and progress of key projects for Collahuasi.

Building a Sustainable Future

Collahuasi is Chile’s fourth largest copper producer and holds the world's sixth largest reserves, estimated at 3.93 billion tonnes of ore, grading 0.66% copper. In 2019 the business produced 565 thousand tons of fine copper, with a sales revenue of $ 3,147 million.

Collahuasi, which has an expected mine life of more than 50 years, processes copper sulphides and oxide ores to produce copper concentrates and cathodes, respectively.

With Collahuasi’s contribution to the regional GDP equivalent to 65.62% and 2.52% nationally, it recognises that offering employment opportunities in the region is crucial.

In 2021, Collahuasi had a total workforce of 5,025 own workers and contractors, 47% of whom come from the Tarapacá region.

The business applies focus to staff health and safety and is now recording the lowest accident frequency and severity rates in its

history, with a reportable rate in 2021 of 0.16.

In addition to direct employment, Collahuasi also seeks to offer a significant opportunity in its supply chain, with a policy which promotes local procurement to foster the socio-economic development of the region and maximise the positive impact of its operation in economic and social terms.

The mining company proudly claims to be the only company in its sector in Chile to assure its carbon footprint.

Care for the environment and its protection are a priority that is mirrored in all of Collahuasi’s processes in order to foster long-term sustainability.

In 2021, Collahuasi launched the first “CO2 Emissions Calculator for Suppliers”, a tool which aims to measure the carbon footprint of each company that participates in the company’s tenders and which is part of Collahuasi’s circular economy strategy.

www.collahuasi.cl

www.collahuasi.cl