The open-pit mining project dedicated to the exploitation of zinc, silver, and lead-silver and considered one of the largest deposits in the world, contributed to the country of US$ 402.1 million in royalties, taxes, and patents during 2022.
ISSUE 127 | 2024
Raúl Serrano
The 2022 Sustainability Report of Minera San Cristóbal highlights its social, environmental, and governance performance, as well as the economic contribution to the country, the region where it operates, and its shareholders, after overcoming significant challenges of operational continuity and sustainability, ensuring that activities were carried out within the framework of its Management System, which maintains its focus on the implementation of best practices and continuous improvement.
“Regarding our personnel, who are our most important asset, and thanks to their effort, we have achieved significant improvements. Currently, we have 1,322 employees of Minera San Cristóbal and 1,501 contractors,” it notes, emphasizing that during this period, no incidents related to human rights occurred, and within the framework of respect for freedom of association and collective bargaining of its workers, the collective labor agreement was signed, in addition to maintaining training and strengthening activities.
CONTRIBUTION TO BOLIVIA
MSC reports that its net revenues from concentrate sales decreased by 23% (US$ 194M) compared to the 2021 management, and that this was mainly due to a decrease in the volume of concentrate sold during the last quarter of 2022, which was substantially affected by a fire at the loading port in Mejillones where they operate, which occurred in Chile on October 1, 2022.
The report indicates that the net result of the fiscal year was negative by US$ 21 million, which was affected by the payment of taxes from previous years, the depreciation of fixed assets, the decrease in concentrate sales, and the increase in production costs, adding that the cost of supplies increased due to international conflicts, bottlenecks in the supply chain, and inflation.
Nevertheless, it specifies that Minera San Cristóbal made a contribution to the country of US$ 402.1 million in royalties, taxes, and patents. “Regarding production, during this year we produced 327 thousand tons of zinc-silver concentrate and 67 thousand tons of lead-silver concentrate; which represents a decrease of 17% in zinc-silver and 22% in lead-silver compared to last year,” the document emphasizes.
It adds that in the 2022 management, they maintained commercial relationships with 1,113 suppliers and made an operating expense of approximately US$ 306.8 million in the combined purchase of goods and services.
“This amount was higher than that recorded in 2021, mainly because we continued our operations and the post-pandemic reactivation in different sectors of goods and services,” it specifies, noting that of the total amount, the acquisition of goods reached an approximate amount of US$ 145.7 million, of which, US$ 53.3 million (37% of the total) were allocated to national and community suppliers.
“…the first drilling activities in this deposit began in 1996 under the umbrella of Apex Silver Mines.”
“We spent US$ 161 million on services in 2022; services acquired abroad represent 28% of the total contracts, and the rest from national suppliers, including those from local communities. Of all contracted services, 9% (US$ 15.3 million) belong to communities in the direct influence area; and 63% of the total services (US$ 101.3 million), in the rest of the country,” it highlights.
In this context, it notes that the investment in communities in the 2022 management was US$ 2.9 million, clarifying that the main activities carried out were the support for the construction of the asphalt road Puente Río Grande-Cruce Laguna Colorada and the completion of the project “Substation of Lithium Bahía Eléctrica,” which for the first time will provide access to the national electrical system to rural communities in the Lípez region.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
MSC emphasizes that its environmental management remains focused on the care and rational, efficient, and sustainable use of natural resources, and the application of good environmental practices.
The president of the company, Dave Assels, highlights that regarding water for the production process, 7.30 million m3 of groundwater and 5.79 million m3 of water from the tailings deposit were extracted, ensuring that the average water consumption rate of groundwater extraction per treated ton was 0.40 m3/t. “This is less than half of the original consumption rate, due to continuous improvement in water recovery innovations,” he says in the presentation of said report.
He adds, also, that energy consumption increased by 2,873 MWh, representing 0.8% compared to 2021. According to Assels, the increase is due to the return to normal operations after the pandemic, which, in turn, influenced the increase in total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
WATER CONSUMPTION
According to this Sustainability Report, the industrial water used by MSC in the mineral processing plant comes from pumping from the northern and southern well fields of the Jaukihua aquifer, located 10 km southeast of the mine, specifying that in the construction phase of this project, a baseline study was conducted, in which this body of water was identified as saline and unsuitable for human, animal, or irrigation consumption.
“Similarly, the source of groundwater extraction is in an area of low demand for this resource; therefore, no water stress is generated,” he assures and notes that in subsequent studies, it was confirmed that Jaukihua is an unconfined saline aquifer that stores approximately 366 million m3, has recharge, and therefore, is sufficient to supply the mining operation during the project’s life years. This aquifer does not belong to or border national or international protected areas and, because it is a deep groundwater source, it does not affect other surface water bodies.
Despite the fact that the quality of the water stored in the aquifer makes it a source of negligible importance for activities in nearby communities, the company maintains a policy of rational use and responsible management of this water resource.
He explains that in 2022, 7.30 million m3 of groundwater were extracted from production wells drilled in the Jaukihua aquifer and that 5.79 million m3 of process water were also recovered from the tailings pond, which represents 44.2% of the water used as input in the mineral concentrator plant. He adds that other complementary sources correspond to: 531,570 m3 of contact water captured in the mine (4.1% of the total captured for use) and 163,922 m3 of surface runoff from the Toldos river (1.3%), seasonally recovered in the rainy season.
“Likewise, the water captured in external Wila Khara channels was 1,468,875 m3 (11.2%), and the average groundwater consumption rate per treated ton was 0.40 m3/t,” he says and adds that as an environmental control measure to avoid liquid discharges outside the operation area and dust emissions to the air, wastewater from the camp and dining room are treated through a biological process until they reach a quality sufficient to be reused in the irrigation of reclamation plots and roads in the operation area.
