THE REOPENING OF THE UNDERGROUND MINE PAPOMONO:
THE BEGINNING OF A NEW STAGE FOR MINERA TRES VALLES

At the end of September 2015, Minera Tres Valles reopened mining operations. After nearly 2 years, the project has restarted exploration operations in the underground mine, Papomono and it’s Northern Pit.

Initially, 28 people were hired to start the preparation and coordination phase of the reopening. Today, the mining team is comprised of 78 people, the majority of which come from the local workforce.

In the Northern open pit area, preparation and extraction of the first tons of ore has been completed. In the short term, this area is expected to operate at an industrial exploitation level.

After nearly two years of restructuring the company, this new stage of operation at Minera Tres Valles has brought in new leaders to facilitate new challenges that arise. José Bahamondes Ledezma, Mine Superintendent, is one of the new additions to the Tres Valles team. He has been an important addition, working hand in hand with the company’s operations management and the rest of the employees from both the mine and the processing plant.

Today in the mining industry, restarting operations is a highly competitive process. “In the current mining scenario, the most important challenge is to reduce production costs with the current values of commodities. This goal is guided by the desire to always keep the company’s responsibility for the safety of our people, environmental sustainability and the relationship with the surrounding communities in balance.”

The reopening of the Papomono mine represents a significant step in the advancement of activities here at Tres Valles. With our new operations “there are promising moments to come,” adds Bahamondes, pursuing our goals of “producing profitably and responsively and working in order to transform ourselves into a leader in the medium sized mining industry in both productivity and quality.