Quellaveco is a few months away from starting its operations and thus producing a series of changes in Moquegua. The generation of jobs and the increase in income in the region are an impact that is already anticipated. What other effects will this mining unit have?
The mining project is still in the final phase of its construction stage, which has involved the creation of up to 29 thousand jobs formal at its peak and is demanding an investment of between US$5,300 and US$5,500 million.
Once the works of the mine are finished and its testing phase is over, it will start operations, something planned for this year. This was reported by the Vice President of Corporate Affairs of Anglo American Quellaveco, Diego Ortega.
Operations and fee
“This year we started operations (…). We hope to reach the end of the year with ‘full’ production, something that next year we could already start with that goal that we have of 300 thousand tons”said during the presentation Quellaveco La Mina del Futuro in the virtual space Jueves Minero, of the Institute of Mining Engineers of Peru (IIMP).
In this context, Ortega specified that this year they will begin with the payment of “the royalties and the IEM (Special Tax on Mining)”, and specified that “the issue (contribution) of the Income Tax is a year later”, of so that the mining canon would begin to be paid in 2023 in favor of the southern region. “We will not wait a certain number of years to pay the Canyon”, added the executive.
The canon received by the region would increase significantly, since a large part of the region’s income from this concept is explained by the Cuajone mine, which, according to Ortega, has a production of between 150,000 and 160,000 tons per year. To this will be added what Quellaveco generates.
“Add the 330 thousand that we would be generating annually in the first five years. There is definitely going to be a significant impact on canon income in the region, in addition to royalties. That is why I insist on the need to start planning from today on how they are going to take advantage of and capitalize on so that the population can really feel that this canon is being invested efficiently and correctly,” Ortega commented.
smart mine
Another aspect of Quellaveco to take into account is that it will also stand out for being the first smart mine in the country, since it will operate with a system that will even allow the automation of some mining activity processes.
“We have an integrated system, with autonomous trucks and drillers,” the executive commented and clarified that this does not mean that operators will not be required for this type of machinery, but rather that it will be a transformation process.
The latter, according to Anglo American, will involve the use of artificial intelligence and mining devices and machinery with sensors that will increase both the safety of operations and the recovery of minerals and a more efficient use of water and energy.
Data:
-Of the total investment, US$400 million correspond to the construction of the water system that allows the responsible use of water. Therefore, 80% of this will come from the Titire, a river with high levels of arsenic.
-The project includes the Vizcacha dam, from which a large part of the water will be allocated to the ecological flow and to develop an expansion of the agricultural frontier in Lomas de Ilo, with 2,000 additional hectares. This will allow the generation of 5,000 agricultural jobs.
