Dialogue with the community and our stakeholders

As part of the Eramet group, Eramine has a clear focus on all aspects related to social responsibility and sustainability which is known under Act For Positive Mining.

Our responsibility is not only to contribute by producing metals that are essential for the energy transition, developing talents and maintaining jobs by safe working conditions and well-being in our industry, but also by using renewable energy.

For that, Eramet Eramine has developed a fair dialogue with its stakeholders, especially those from the civil society. It allows everyone to be better informed about projects and to propose solutions to reduce the negative effects related to the business model, while promoting the search for a positive contribution to issues of general interest.

The Centenario-Ratones site stands at 3,800 meters above  level in La Puna. Our closest neighbors are puesteros, located 11 kilometers away from the plant. The first village is Santa Rosa de los Pastos Grandes, 74 kilometers away; and then San Antonio de los Cobres, another 25 kilometers away on the road to Salta. These are the communities we are taking care of, with a few closer to the Salta city area.

Dialogue as the basis for collaborative work

Eramine is to be audited against the IRMA standard

Eramine has initiated the process to be audited against IRMA (Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance), which is the most comprehensive and rigorous standard for best mining practices on an industrial scale. IRMA has a governance made up of multiple stakeholders with equal rights: NGOs, the mining industry, international trade unions, intermediate buyers, investors and finance, etc.. It covers many topics, among which:

  • Human Rights and ethics
  • Dialogue with the communities and grievance mechanism
  • Environmental and biodiversity management
  • Financial transparency

An FPIC with the Kolla community

At the beginning of 2010, before exploration started, our teams started studying and establishing dialogue with the local communities, particularly with the Kolla community of Santa Rosa de los Pastos Grandes (260 inhabitants), recognized as an indigenous population by the Constitution of the Province of Salta. There are also 7 semi-nomad families living near the industrial project, mostly dedicated to stockbreeding.

Community dialogue
  • We conducted the Free, Prior and Informed Consult (FPIC), following the provisions of the ILO Convention 169, in which the community expressed its support to the project.
  • We also held a Public Hearing for the Biannual Renewal of the Environmental and Social Impact Study (ESIS), thus complying with the provisions of article 49 of 7070/00

Throughout the lifespan of the project, we communicate with the community periodically to inform them about its development, invite them to participate in environmental monitoring, and share results.

During construction

>200
communications
for the communities

140
visits
to the communities & puesteros

Safety & well-being
workshops
(CARE talks, APELL…)