MINERA TRES VALLES: SX-EW AREA ISO 9001 CERTIFIED, SINCE 2013 

The international standard ISO 9001 is a part of the International Standardization Organization (ISO) and focuses on a company’s quality management as the principal system for efficient administration and to manage products and services at a higher level.

By committing hard work and subjecting the company to the organizational challenges of becoming ISO 9001 certified, simply going through the regulation processes creates improvements in a company’s results. The process trains the team and provides each worker with more knowledge of the different areas while clearly defining goals to be achieved. Similarly, becoming certified creates internal improvements in coordination between areas and teamwork, encourages effective and efficient management, as well as better planning, tracking and correcting of process nonconformities.

It is clear that this standardization system creates advantages for an organization, as in the case of Minera Tres Valles, which enhance the efficiency of processes as well as the team. These advantages generate better market alternatives and more opportunities for clients.

ISO 9001 Recertification Process Begins at Minera Tres Valles

In July of 2016, Minera Tres Valles presented a new evaluation of the company’s ISO 9001 Certification. Reviewing the hard work and effort that the company has put forth in order to set up this standard as a working model and show the company’s ability to respond to ISO’s quality goals, which also correspond to the highest aspirations of the Minera Tres Valles Quality Policy: produce under standards of operational excellence, and always seek opportunities for continuous improvement.

Auditors and certification experts of Bureau Veritas, Carolina Garcia and Marcelo Rubilar, were in charge of verifying Minera Tres Valles’ execution plan, corresponding exclusively to the certification of the SX-EW plant. Yanira Pizarro F. –the head of the Quality Management System at Minera Tres Valles—was responsible for the management and monitoring of the company’s audit.

For two days, Tuesday the 26th and Wednesday the 27th of July, the auditors reviewed the different areas defined in the execution plan: operational processes of the SX-EW plant (weighing and dispensing, reverse Osmosis and parallel support processes), quality management, supply, electrical and mechanical maintenance, sustainability and safety and occupational health, the laboratory, and human resources.

After a thorough review, the assessment process was very positive, presenting an excellent participation and commitment from the different areas of the company. The different stages developed smoothly and nearly every area of the plan was approved. Even including the minor non-conformity, this revision represents substantial progress for Minera Tres Valles, and the correction has already began. After this occurs, the plan will be sent to the certifying body, and will conclude with the approval and recertification of ISO 9001.

Development of Quality Management

Three years ago Minera Tres Valles started down the road for ISO 9001 certification for the SX-EW plant. At the beginning, the implementation of the standard was a slow process and gradually the standard’s requirements were incorporated into the management of the company. The main objective has been to work ceaselessly to develop a Quality Culture, which enables all the efforts involved in certification to remain as a permanent vision to work towards improvements. These efforts will then hopefully be reflected in the company’s services and in the product’s quality system. Tres Valles always operates in pursuit of customer satisfaction as our first and ultimate goal.

Yanira Pizarro, the woman in charge of Minera Tres Valles’ QMS, commented on the recent requirement to obtain recertification: “At Minera Tres Valles we have taken a huge step. In 2013 we focused on the fulfillment of requirements that were nearly all documents and paper work, whereas now we are carrying out a process that is much more advanced and efficient, we have been able to face this audit in an organized way with a great ability to formulate responses and admirable commitment from all areas of the company.”

At Minera Tres Valles we have formed a team of people who are very committed to quality management. For our mining company, this certification represents today’s important motivation. For our mining company, this certification represents, today, a major motivation as well as a more complete understanding of the significance of each process that builds the quality of our ultimate goal: to produce cathodes of the highest quality that meet the requirements of our customers.

For more information on ISO 9001, www.iso.org