MTV OBTAINS MUTUAL’S ´COMPETITIVE COMPANY PROGRAM´ (PEC) CERTIFICATION

MTV OBTAINS MUTUAL’S  ´COMPETITIVE COMPANY PROGRAM´  (PEC) CERTIFICATION

The Competitive Company Program (PEC) is an instrument for Occupational Risk Prevention designed to contribute to productivity and improvement in companies associated with the Mutual, seeking to provide protection for the physical integrity and health of workers as well as give out other resources from the organization.

 

The PEC contains a series of requirements grouped into 10 modules that the company must implement and apply, with the goal to comply with the legal framework and achieve an improvement in risk management.


The audit work to obtain the certification as a PEC company at MTV was led by the SSO team. The process began in May 2022; and finally, on Thursday, December 1, the certification was obtained.


This recognition adds value to the strategic objectives of the Health and Occupational Safety department and recognizes the individual and collective effort of the MTV team.

MTV OBTIENE LA CERTIFICACIÓN DEL PROGRAMA EMPRESA COMPETITIVA (PEC) MUTUAL
MTV OBTIENE LA CERTIFICACIÓN DEL PROGRAMA EMPRESA COMPETITIVA (PEC) DE MUTUAL
MTV OBTIENE LA CERTIFICACIÓN DEL PROGRAMA EMPRESA COMPETITIVA (PEC) DE MUTUA
MTV OBTIENE LA CERTIFICACIÓN DEL PROGRAMA EMPRESA COMPETITIVA (PEC) DE M
MTV OBTIENE LA CERTIFICACIÓN DEL PROGRAMA EMPRESA COMPETITIVA (PEC)

MINERA TRES VALLES CELEBRATES CHILEAN INDEPENDENCE DAY WITH WORKERS

MINERA TRES VALLES CELEBRATES CHILEAN INDEPENDENCE DAY WITH WORKERS

Together with workers and local authorities, Minera Tres Valles celebrated the 222nd anniversary of the national independence of the Republic of Chile.

 

In an austere event, but with a lot of patriotism, our company commemorated the national holidays together with three marching bands from Salamanca, Chilean folk songs, and the national dance, the Cueca.


The marching bands from the San Sebastián, Corazón de Jesús and San Francisco de Asís schools were present with approximately 100 students. The children participated by playing with their bands to commemorate the national holidays in spirit at our offices located in Quilmenco.


Authorities from the Army, Police Officers, and the Chilean FBI, together with representatives from the local municipalities, accompanied us in this emotional act, where workers who completed 10 years working at Minera Tres Valles were also recognized.


Along with local folk artists from Manquehua, we were accompanied by Misaldo Astudillo, director of the Manquehua School, who delighted us with his tunes.


The Cueca dance to the flag was performed by the shift manager of the SOMACOR security company, and the winner of the national Cueca contest, Leandro Gallegos.

Minera Tres Valles Celebrates Chilean Independence Day With Workers 14 September 2022
IMG_1097
Minera Tres Valles Celebrates Chilean Independence Day With Workers 14 September 2022
Minera Tres Valles Celebrates Chilean Independence Day With Workers 14 September 2022
Minera Tres Valles Celebrates Chilean Independence Day With Workers 14 September 2022

MINERA TRES VALLES COVID-19 VACCINATION PROGRAM REACHES 75% OF TOTAL WORKFORCE

MINERA TRES VALLES  COVID-19 VACCINATION PROGRAM REACHES 75% OF TOTAL WORKFORCE

 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Minera Tres Valles’ main objectives have been to protect the health of its direct employees and contractors (together, the “workers”) while also aiming to ensure operational continuity of the Company.


In order to achieve this, starting on March 31, 2021, there have been numerous occasions where vaccinations have been carried out on site, which to date total 458 workers who have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccination, or 75% of the total workforce.

“This activity has been well received by our team. We all know that prevention and self-care are the keys to ensuring our health and that of our family. For this reason, at Minera Tres Valles, we have implemented different campaigns that highlight the incentives of getting vaccinated and taking the necessary protocols to stay healthy”, stated Luis Vega, CEO de Minera Tres Valles.


This internal vaccination program has been carried out in conjunction with the Ministry of Mining, Ministry of Health and the Regional Mining Secretary of Coquimbo, entities that have collaborated to facilitate these projects and accelerate the rates of vaccination in the region.


“We are targeting 100% vaccination of our workers with both doses, which we hope to achieve very soon; we will continue working tirelessly toward this goal”, Luis Vega added.

MINERA TRES VALLES INVITES NEIGHBORS TO WITNESS PROTOCOLS

 

MINERA TRES VALLES INVITES NEIGHBORS TO WITNESS PROTOCOLS

 
 Minera Tres Valles invites neighbors from the surrounding communities to come and verify that the protocols being used for blasting and dust emissions are valid and correctly performed.

On Tuesday, May 4th, Minera Tres Valles received visitors from the nearby communities to show an in-situ controlled blasting event, teaching the protocols required by the regulatory authorities to the community representatives and demonstrating correct compliance with current regulations by being totally transparent with our everyday operations.


The event took place in an environment of mutual respect and concern from both parties. Along with the Sustainability Manager and other managers from MTV, the following representatives were present: Viviana Varas, president of the Manquehua Community; Iris Astudillo, president of the El Señor de la Tierra Community; Fredy Rivera, president of the El Tebal community; and Wenceslao Layana, president of the Chalinga Agricultural Community.


They were able to confirm the following points:

  • Minera Tres Valles complies with the required protocols to perform blasts and it complies with the procedures necessary for lowering dust emissions, measuring these via established monitoring stations that record MP10 emissions and vibration levels. The Company has not surpassed regulatory limits in any of its recordings measured in past months.
  • There are 15 other mining operations in the Chalinga area, with no association to MTV.
  • MTV is committed to maintaining the current measures used for controlling the dust that is released from the Don Gabriel Mine and Manquehua road. These environmental actions were demonstrated, and the community representatives were satisfied with the results obtained.
  • It was agreed to keep the table open, continuing constructive, transparent and collaborative dialogue between the communities and MTV. This communication will be direct and immediate through WhatsApp groups, where items of common interest, such as the blasting schedule, will be previously notified.
  • The next activity that will be discussed with this panel will be the scheduling of the community inspection of MTV’s MP10 monitoring station, with a third-party specialist who will explain how the emissions are recorded. Likewise, an onsite inspection of the shock (vibrational) monitoring station will be performed by an expert, in order to verify and learn about the operational methodology used at this station.

Sergio Molina, Mining Manager at MTV, stressed that, “it is thanks to these opportunities to discuss and participate with the leaders of surrounding communities that give MTV the tools to understand and respond to the questions from our neighbors; this promotes a greater closeness with the Company, receiving reliable information from the source”

 

Minera Tres Valles is a medium-sized copper cathode producer, located in the town of Salamanca in the Choapa Province. It is 70% owned by the Canadian company, SRHI Inc., and 30% owned by the Chilean group, Vecchiola S.A.

 https://mineratresvalles.com/

Viviana Varas, President of the Manquehua Community, and Wenceslao Layala, President of the Chalinga Agricultural Community, share their observations during the tour

Miguel Fuentealba, Mine Plan Supervisor at MTV, explains the mine developing process to Iris Astudillo, President of the El Señor de la Tierra Community

MINERA TRES VALLES COVID-19 VACCINATION PROGRAM PROTECTS HEALTH OF WORKERS

MINERA TRES VALLES  COVID-19 VACCINATION PROGRAM PROTECTS HEALTH OF WORKERS

 
 

The Minera Tres Valles COVID-19 Vaccination Program sets out to protect the health of its direct employees and contractors by increasing the accessibility to preventative vaccines, while also aiming to ensure operational continuity. The Program was developed by the Company, in conjunction with the Ministry of Mining, Ministry of Health and the Regional Mining Secretary of Coquimbo.


This on-site initiative benefits direct employees and those of Minera Tres Valles’ Contractors; and it is part of the vaccination program and calendar developed by the government to control the pandemic. Carrying out this program at the mine, in addition to being a support to the Company, makes it possible to relieve the vaccination sites that are open to the surrounding communities.

The activity began on March 31st, providing vaccinations every Wednesday for all of Minera Tres Valles’ workers, with 91 direct employees and 114 contractors having now received both doses of the vaccine.


“This figure increases weekly thanks to the successful vaccination program we are carrying out in conjunction with the Ministry of Mining, the Ministry of Health and the Regional Mining Secretary of Coquimbo. Safeguarding our health is everyone’s job, and these types of actions are very positive for maintaining operational continuity; at the same time, we ensure the health of our entire workforce, which is ultimately the most important thing,” stated Luis Vega, CEO of Minera Tres Valles.


Emilio Lazo, the Regional Mining Secretary of Coquimbo, was present at this week’s event, commenting that “this activity is held weekly in different mining companies that participate in the regional vaccination program, which is governed and subject to the calendar and criteria established by the Ministry of Health.  As the Ministry of Mining, together with the mining companies, we have been carrying out a very specific and coordinated task, focusing on health, taking care of our mining family, and maintaining operational continuity”.


This on-site COVID-19 Vaccination Program will keep going until all the workers who want to join the initiative are covered, according to the corresponding calendar and age group. “At Minera Tres Valles, we are committed to providing vaccines to 100% of our direct employees and contracted workers who are interested in getting vaccinated. As a company, we look after our well-being and that of the entire community, so we will promote this internal vaccination campaign against COVID-19 for as long as it is necessary,” Luis Vega concluded.

Covid-19 Vaccination event

Gallery

MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Seremi 02
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Seremi 04
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program
MTV | 2021 Covid 19 Vaccination program

MINING MINISTER BALDO PROKURICA HIGHLIGHTED MINERA TRES VALLES’ DEVELOPMENT OF NEW OPERATIONAL PROJECTS

MINING MINISTER BALDO PROKURICA HIGHLIGHTED MINERA TRES VALLES’ DEVELOPMENT

OF NEW OPERATIONAL PROJECTS

 

The visit is part of the announcement of the Company’s operational reactivation, which consists of starting work in its Papomono Masivo underground project as well as reopening its Don Gabriel open pit mine.


The Minister of Mining, Baldo Prokurica, accompanied by the CEO of Minera Tres Valles, Luis Vega Muñoz, took a tour of the various site operational areas. In this opportunity, the Secretary of State learned about the structural projects that the Company has been developing to achieve the consolidation of its production.


The construction of Papomono Masivo is one of its consolidation and improvements in production projects, which seeks to implement an inclined block caving exploitation method, an innovative procedure within medium-scale mining operations nationwide that will optimize the Company’s underground mining operation.


Along with this project, Minera Tres Valles plans to reopen its Don Gabriel open pit mine which was temporarily halted at the beginning of this year as a result of the pandemic and low copper prices.


Regarding his visit, Minister Prokurica highlighted the “great effort that Minera Tres Valles has made to keep up with not only its own activity, but also the purchase of ore from small miners. Reviving this process that went through a dificult time when the copper price fell, and that today the Company has reoriented, generating new partners, and through a special effort is restarting to rehire labor.”

Along these lines, he added that “this is good news for the country and for the Coquimbo Region, that this company is doing well, which hires local labor and shows a great commitment toward the surrounding communities. Mining once again gives Chilean families an opportunity, especially in the post-pandemic period.”


While the CEO of Minera Tres Valles, Luis Vega Muñoz, thanked the Minister of Mining and the other regional authorities for their visit to the site, he took the opportunity to comment on the new phase the Company is entering into by saying, “we have just closed a reorganization agreement where the Company has restructured its debt with national suppliers, allowing us to execute our current structural projects. We are very close to starting developments at the Papomono underground mine. Our goal is to restart operations at the Don Gabriel mine next year; by doing so, we will eventually achieve nominal capacity at the crushing plant with the production from the two deposits.”


During the site tour, the Minister was accompanied by the Mayor of the Coquimbo region, Lucía Pinto, the Regional Mining Secretary, Roberto Vega, and other members of the executive and managerial staff of Minera Tres Valles, Rafael Pérez de Arce, Jorge Baraqui, Sebastián Cortés and Eduardo Reyes.


Awarding of Funds – PAMMA 2020


The activity closed with a symbolic ceremony awarding funds for 2020 to the Coquimbo region’s Training and Technology Transfer Program for ‘Small Artisanal Mining’ (‘PAMMA’ for its Spanish acronym).

With representatives present from the various mining groups and unions in the province of Choapa, Minister Prokurica symbolically awarded CLP$ 551,701,151 to finance the 121 individual projects assigned for this period.

MINERA TRES VALLES WAS DISTINGUISHED FOR ITS WORK ON SUSTAINABILITY MATTERS IN THE NEW VERSION OF THE COQUIMBO OPEN MINING DAY

MINERA TRES VALLES WAS DISTINGUISHED FOR ITS WORK ON SUSTAINABILITY MATTERS

IN THE NEW VERSION OF THE COQUIMBO OPEN MINING DAY


 

The third version of the “Coquimbo Open Mining Day”, organized by the Regional Secretary of the Ministry of Mines, had as one of its purposes, to establish cooperation and interaction instances in order to consolidate a productive and sustainable mining industry in the region.


On Thursday 12t h December, 2019, in the facilities of the Enjoy Hotel and Casino of Coquimbo, the “Open Mining Coquimbo 2019” convention took place, gathering people from local small, medium and large mining companies in order to improve the services and productive techniques associated to the industry.


After a day of informative talks and various exhibits from mining companies and enterprises that provide services to the industry, the closure dinning took place, instance that had the presence of the Mining Minister, Baldo Prokuriça. In this opportunity, three companies of the region were awarded with a recognition, being Compañía Minera Teck Carmen de Andacollo, Minera Los Pelambres y Minera Tres Valles.


In the case of Minera Tres Valles, the award given during the “Coquimbo Open Mining Day” distinguished the work made by Minera Tres Valles in Sustainability matter, which is bases in three main pillars, safety, environment and communities. Among the work done by the company, it stands out its development foundation, Fundación Tres Vales, the framework agreement with the local miners (which lends for free exploitation points in MTV ́s mining concessions), and the support for the development of the Santuario de la Naturaleza Raja de Manquehua- Poza Azul, which is an iconic site and it is a great heritage contribution for the county of Salamanca.


According to Sebastián Cortés, Sustainability Manager of Minera Tres Valles, this distinction “fills us with pride and strengthens our will to continue working for the development of our communities, establishing measures that contribute in a tangible way to their wellness and allow the generation of instances of growth through the strengthening of their capacities and resources. As a company we have the belief that a transparent and direct dialogue makes us forge confidence relationships that bring benefits to us and the local communities”.

MINERA TRES VALLES CLOSES US$ 45 MILLION DEAL WITH ANGLO AMERICAN

MINERA TRES VALLES CLOSES US$ 45 MILLION DEAL WITH ANGLO AMERICAN


On Thursday, December 12th, the representatives from Anglo American in Chile and the CEO of Minera Tres Valles executed the last contract of the financial package corresponding to the secured loan of US$ 45 million, funds that were officially received on December 19th


The financial package was announced by Sprott Resource Holdings Inc. in August 2019, when the mandate letter with Anglo American Marketing Limited (“AAMLUK”) and GAM Kimura Commodity Trade Finance Fund Limited (“Kimura”) was executed. This deal will provide MTV an important investment amount that will be key in the development and expansion of the company.


Through this financing package, Minera Tres Valles will start the Inclined Block Caving project for its underground mine deposit, Papomono, as well as fund the final costs of the chloride media leaching project.


MTV’s CEO, Luis Vega Muñoz, highlighted that the closing of this financing package “will allow Minera Tres Valles to optimize its production and strengthen the operation, capturing the high potential that our project has. Nowadays, the medium mining industry in Chile plays an important role in the country’s economy, and projects like ours prove that it is possible to produce in a responsible way through maintaining strong community relations and making investments in optimizing its processes.”

IN ILLAPEL: NATIONAL MINING SOCIETY (SONAMI) AWARDS SAN LORENZO PRIZE TO MINERA TRES VALLES

IN ILLAPEL: NATIONAL MINING SOCIETY (SONAMI)

AWARDS SAN LORENZO PRIZE TO MINERA TRES VALLES

 

The National Miners Day celebration was jointly organized by Sonami and the Illapel Mining Association, having as special guests the Mining Minister, Baldo Prokuriça, and the Ministerial Regional Secretary, Roberto Vega.


By awarding the “San Lorenzo” prizes, the National Mining Society annually recognizes the players that produce a significant contribution to national mining activity. During 2019, this recognition was given to Minera Tres Valles for its contribution to promoting production in the region, through the optimization of processes and the building of a collaborative agreement with small-scale miners from the area.


The award was presented by Diego Hernández, president of Sonami, who highlighted the significance of delivering the San Lorenzo prizes to representatives of local small, medium and large scale mines. “The distinction awarded to Minera Tres Valles, as a medium-scale company, aims to highlight the absolute importance of this industry in Chile, for what it produces and exports, as well as for the contribution it makes in the places where it is located, as a creator of jobs and as a destination for local suppliers.”


As for the Minister of Mining, Baldo Prokuriça said that as a ministry “we wanted to celebrate Miners Day here in Illapel to award the people that are in different areas and levels of mining who give a better quality of life to many families, since without mining there is no prosperity, welfare or development.”


On this occasion, the Ministerial Regional Secretary of Mining, Roberto Vega, presented to Minera Tres Valles a distinction for “its contribution to small mining”, an effort that is based on promoting the supply chain through delivering shared extraction points, leasing mining rights and executing a purchasing agreement with local small-scale miners.


For Luis Vega, CEO of Minera Tres Valles, receiving “this recognition, as part of the celebration of San Lorenzo, fills us with pride as a Company, as we have strived to become a mining project with high standards in terms of operations, safety, sustainability, innovation, and the progression of our home turf. We appreciate this distinction that invites us to strengthen our current role in the territory and continue working for the development of the region and our country.”

MINERA TRES VALLES’ METALLURGY SUPERINTENDENT PRESENTS AT INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON HYDROMETALLURGICAL PROCESSES

MINERA TRES VALLES’ METALLURGY SUPERINTENDENT
PRESENTS AT INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON
HYDROMETALLURGICAL PROCESSES


Hydroprocess 2019 was jointly organized by the University of British Columbia, the University of Antofagasta, and the Chilean company, Gecamin.


The 11th International Seminar on Hydrometallurgical Processes, referred to as Hydroprocess 2019, was held from the 19 to the 21 of June at the Hotel Sheraton in the city of Santiago. It addressed principal innovations in hydrometallurgical processes for metals and nonmetals mining.


With close to 300 attendees and more than 70 technical speakers, the 2019 edition of the seminar spoke about the processes and challenges that arise in hydrometallurgy within the mining industry, making reference to developing new materials and technologies along with optimizing operations.


Eduardo Hasan Soto, Metallurgy Superintendent at Minera Tres Valles, was one of the 27 presenters who belongs to a mining operation that formed part of the Hydroprocess seminar. It was an opportunity to show the audience the scope of his research on “Copper Leaching from Sulfide Ore in Acidic-Chloride Media”, which highlighted the addition of salt to the copper extraction process.


Leaching in chloride media is a project that has been developed since 2015 by the Research and Development team at Minera Tres Valles. It has optimized the production process by decreasing sulfuric acid consumption and increasing copper recovery while shortening the reaction kinetic cycle. The salt leach project is currently in its implementation stage, which requires various reconditioning procedures in the agglomeration, solvent extraction and electro-obtention processes.


Minera Tres Valles has been one of the first companies to bet on developing the process of leaching with chloride media to extract copper. Its experienced research team and up-to-date facilities have made it become an important source of innovation for the Chilean mining industry, being a recurring destination for other companies that are in the planning stage of adding sodium chloride to their production process.


For Eduardo Hasan, “implementing this technology has positioned Tres Valles as a type of role model in the area of leaching copper sulfides by using sodium chloride as an oxidizing agent. Although sodium chloride leaching has research dating back from the 1990s, today there are only three companies that are in some stage of implementing this technology, Minera Tres Valles being one of them.


The merit of Tres Valles’ project stems from having developed this technological innovation with modest resources in comparison to large-scale mining companies (the project cost at BHP’s Spence mine was US$ 220 MM; the estimated cost of Minera Zaldívar is US$ 170 MM; while the cost of our project is valued at only US$ 7 MM). Additionally, all of our pilot and semi-industrial studies have been carried out by our own staff, forming a “know how” of interest to other medium-scale mining companies.