What do our neighbors tell us at the meetings?

Contact with the community is permanent. More than 90 percent of Agua Rica’s workers are from Catamarca, and almost 100 percent of that percentage are neighbors of Andalgalá. We are also an active part of the community; we are also neighbors.

Regarding the proposal, the integration of the Agua Rica deposit with Alumbrera, as we said, significantly reduces the environmental footprint of the project, and this was quickly construed as something positive by the community.

As part of the approval process of our exploration environmental impact report, we carried out informative and citizen participation talks in which more than a thousand people indirectly participated as well as many others indirectly through the dissemination of these talks by the traditional media.

From a couple of years ago to date, and taking into account the difficulties caused by the pandemic, we carried out several activities and actions from Agua Rica, that relied upon the broad participation and local interest. More than 1200 people from Andalgalá actively participated in the training cycles organized or facilitated by Agua Rica, in coordination with trade organizations, the Government of Catamarca, supplier companies, etc. In order for the local community to get to know the Agua Rica deposit, we organized a program of visits through which more than 1300 neighbors were able to visit the project.

It is also worth mentioning the interaction between the company and the community within the framework of the company’s sports support program. In this context, more than 500 neighbors actively participated in the various sports-related activities organized and supported by Agua Rica.

Regarding social demands, we must highlight two clear axes: community development and environmental care. Social demands that emphasize the generation of local labor, local contracting and transparency in environmental processes are also being addressed in these areas.