TRAINING DAY FOR MINERA TRES VALLES´ EMERGENCY BRIGADE

TRAINING DAY FOR MINERA TRES VALLES´  EMERGENCY BRIGADE

In January of this year, Minera Tres Valles’ Emergency Brigade added new members, with a training session being held that allowed 19 professionals from different areas to be certified, appreciating a strong female presence in this select group of brigade members.

 

The training activity was divided into two parts: the first consisted of a theoretical training, where members were trained in primary care for traumatized personnel and how to react when facing an event where the physical safety of onsite workers is at risk, as well as the use of different rescue techniques and firefighting elements. The second part involved a planned fire simulation exercise and the rescue of an injured person from inside a wrecked vehicle. The objectives of these activities focused on the efficiency of response to an event, teamwork, leadership, communication, the use of fire safety equipment, and medical attention issued for the injured.


This endeavor invites us to continue training on a permanent basis, favoring the constant development of brigade members’ potential as well as being increasingly better prepared for possible emergencies at Minera Tres Valles.

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.

CHALINGA AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY VISIT MINERA TRES VALLES

CHALINGA AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY VISIT MINERA TRES VALLES

On Thursday, November 10, 2022, the board of the Chalinga Agricultural Community visited Minera Tres Valles due to the upcoming renewal of the Easement held with them and to discuss the current state of the Company. The board of directors, led by its president Arturo Godoy, valued, and spoke highly of this activity; since they as an organization will soon have a meeting with their assembly where they will present the current relationship of Minera Tres Valles to the Community.

 

In the activity, Arturo Godoy said: “We needed this visit and together with all the community leaders we are happy to be able to work together and we are glad that every time there is a problem related to the interests of the community and the development of the project, the Company informs us, and we can solve it together through dialogue. That is what I think as well as my colleagues on the board”.


The Community’s rental easement covers a total of 188 hectares and must be renewed in 2024. Within the easement, the areas containing the Don Gabriel Pit, Papomono Mine, the mine to plant road are identified, all these areas were visited by the Community to verify the status of the easement.

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.

MINING MINISTER MARCELA HERNANDO AND VICE PRESIDENT JAIME PÉREZ DE ARCE WITH COMERCIAL MANAGER IVAN FORTÍN FROM THE NATIONAL MINING COMPANY (ENAMI) VISIT MINERA TRES VALLES

MINING MINISTER MARCELA HERNANDO AND VICE PRESIDENT JAIME PÉREZ DE ARCE WITH COMERCIAL MANAGER IVAN FORTÍN FROM THE NATIONAL MINING COMPANY (ENAMI) VISIT MINERA TRES VALLES

On Friday, August 5, the Mining Minister, the Mining Seremi and the Presidential Delegate, along with ENAMI upper management, visited Minera Tres Valles’ site in Quilmenco, Salamanca.

 

On Friday, August 5, the Mining Minister, the Mining Seremi and the Presidential Delegate, along with ENAMI upper management, visited Minera Tres Valles’ site in Quilmenco, Salamanca.


Expressing her concern about the standstill of operations, the Mining Minister took a tour of Minera Tres Valles’ facilities, where the financial situation of the Company has forced the idling of its Plant’s purchasing power, which received about 25,000 tons of high-grade ore from third parties per month, mainly from the Choapa province but arriving from as far as the Metropolitan region.


During her tour, the Minister participated in the provincial mining roundtable discussions with members of Parliament from the Coquimbo region and the Mayors of Illapel and Salamanca.


In this opportunity, the miners from the province expressed their main concerns to the Minister and ENAMI executives, the most important being the detention of the Minera Tres Valles’ Plant purchasing power, which received about 80% of the copper ore in the province.


It is important to point out that Minera Tres Valles offers quite beneficial purchase conditions for third parties who sell their ore to the Company, highlighting among these the payment of ore with total copper grades starting from 0.5% CuT as well as the purchase of mixed ore, where oxide minerals are mixed with secondary sulfides (mainly chalcocite)

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

MINERA TRES VALLES CEO FEATURED IN MINING WEBINAR 2020

MINERA TRES VALLES CEO FEATURED IN MINING WEBINAR 2020

 

The activity was carried out on Friday, September 25th, and was organized by the Michael Page website. The central focus was the evolution of Chilean mining throughout history and the current panorama in times of Covid-19.


The webinar “Mining 2020: Together Building a New Reality” concentrated on three points of conversation, the past, the present and the future of mining in Chile, through the perspective of experts from the medium and large industries.


Luis Vega Muñoz, CEO of Minera Tres Valles, participated in the conference and presented the keys to growth and innovation implemented within the mining sector in recent years. “In terms of human capital, over the last ten years, inclusion has been an extremely important issue, mining is a fairly traditional field, but significant progress has been made, especially with the presence of women in mining. Women have an increasingly relevant role in the mining workforce, with leadership roles that were traditionally not seen.”


He stressed that “regarding business relationships, it is also clear that mining has evolved, being much more careful with the entities with which it associates, its stakeholders. Traditionally we cared about shareholders, however, now there are other relevant players, employees, the community, the environment, they are much more relevant in our day to day.”


Regarding the challenges and opportunities for mining companies after the pandemic, Luis Vega pointed out the “evident effect of working from home, the lack of needing to be physically in the office. The technology existed, it is not something new, but a culture has been generated around this, we have internalized that not only face-to-face meetings are necessary, which will mean changes at the level of fixed costs in companies.”


The activity also featured presentations by Sofía Sánchez, VP of People and Organization at Anglo American, Luis Albano Tondo, CEO of Marimaca Copper, and Fernando Hernández, VP of HR at the Doña Inés de Collahuasi Mining Company.

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.