We implemented our first electric buses in the Huasco Valley.

As part of an important investment plan and environmental and social improvement projects, Compañía Minera del Pacífico (CMP) inaugurated the operation of two 100% electric buses for the daily transportation of workers from their homes to the Pellet Plant and Los Colorados Mine in Huasco.

This effort is in addition to the previous implementation, in July 2021, of the company's first two electric buses, which to date have worked successfully in transporting personnel to the Minas El Romeral mine sites in La Serena and Cerro Negro Norte, in Copiapó.

Thus, electromobility emerges as a recent experience to consolidate sustainable consumption in the different processes of CMP and continue creating a different kind of mining, contributing to the sustainable development of the territory and its people.

The project considers a pilot phase of eight months, during which the consumption, performance and efficiency of the vehicles will be evaluated, with a view to further expansion across its different operations, migrating from fossil fuels to electricity.

The general manager of CMP, Francisco Carvajal, said that the launch represents "the beginning of the path of consolidation of electromobility, in a context of transformation towards sustainability that we are experiencing with concrete actions. We hope that the buses will be appreciated by our workers and the communities of the Huasco Valley".

The two machines that will travel through the Huasco Valley will be operated by the collaborating company, Verschae. The general manager of the company, Enrique Krauss, explained that the units "are of Chinese origin and have the highest level of sophistication in terms of safety and comfort for users", adding that "this important step by CMP is an example for the rest of the mining industry and the actors involved in transportation".

The inauguration of the machines was attended by the provincial presidential delegate of Huasco, Nelly Galeb, who after a brief tour of the Pellet Plant said: "I congratulate CMP for this magnificent work and for responding to the Government's call to have safe and clean jobs. The bus is comfortable, safe and totally silent. The company's workers will have the pleasant experience of going to their jobs without polluting the environment".

It should be noted that the benefits of an electric bus, compared to a conventional one, include a 50% reduction in the carbon footprint, 10% less noise emissions and a 70% reduction in maintenance costs, in addition to a longer service life and greater comfort.

Concrete sustainability initiatives

Additionally, and also in terms of electromobility, the company acquired two electric shovels for Los Colorados Mine, which will increase operational efficiency in a sustainable manner, resulting in higher productivity, better reliability and lower emissions and costs per ton of material moved. These are also the first of their kind in the Huasco Valley.

Along these same lines, CMP recently announced the decarbonization plan for the Pellet Plant, which consists of dismantling all the coal-fired installations in the furnaces and replacing the parts and pieces to transform it into a facility that operates with liquefied natural gas (LNG).

In addition, the implementation of a new electrostatic precipitator in chimney 2B of the Pellet Plant is underway, a project that will achieve an emission abatement efficiency of 72% in particulate matter and 76% in sulfur dioxide by means of the desulfurizer.

"As we have already stated, we want to promote a different kind of mining, one that grows hand in hand with the communities. In this sense, CMP wants to deepen its commitment to electromobility in Huasco, understanding that our priority is in an environmental and social improvement that works as a clear example of sustainable mining that as an organization we are committed to promote, from the heart of our processes", complemented the general manager of the company, Francisco Carvajal.