Mexico’s Mining Industry

36 Negocios ProMéxico Negocios ProMéxico 37
Mexico is our Star Horse:
golDcorp
____
by omar magaña
photos courtesy of goldcorp
MexIco IS wrItten
In golD letterS. In
the 21St century the
MIneral wealth of
the country StIll
DrIVeS the tIMeleSS
InDuStry of precIouS
MetalS exploratIon.
golDcorp IS lIVIng
proof of the fact.
Goldcorp is the case that confirms
that Mexico remains that horn of
plenty of which so much was said
in past centuries. The country
pays rich dividends to the Canadian mining
company, meaning its goal is to consolidate
what has been achieved so far and to grow
with new investments.
Goldcorp owns Peñasquito, the largest
gold mine in Mexico and 35th largest in
the world, located in the municipality of
Mazapil, Zacatecas.
Since the second half of the past decade,
the company has directed all its efforts to
this site located in the semi-desert plain on
the state border between Zacatecas and Coahuila
and where it has discovered a huge potential
for the exploitation of gold, as well as
silver, zinc and lead. In early 2012, the mining
company estimated that by the end of the
year, it would recover between 370,000 and
390,000 ounces of gold.
Now, a year later, Horacio Bruna, senior
vice president of operations in Mexico, estimates
that much of the 300 million usd that
Goldcorp will invest across their Mexican
facilities –at El Sauzal (Chihuahua), Los Filos
(Guerrero) and Peñasquito– will go to the
latter. “Peñasquito is a young company that
has a lot to contribute,” Bruna says.
Two projects currently under development,
Noche Buena and Camino Rojo, are
in fact located on land near Peñasquito. The
first has proven resources of 1 million ounces
of gold and 30 million of silver while the second
could provide up to 2.8 million ounces of
gold and 52.6 million ounces of silver.
Peñasquito itself, a mine consisting of two
open pits, Peñasco and Chile Colorado, already
employs 2,695 people and has an estimated
lifespan of 22 years. Soon it will oust
Goldcorp’s mine in Guerrero, which currently
produces an average of over 350,000 ounces
of gold annually and employs around 2,120
people in the municipality of Mezcala. It
will be far larger than El Sauzal, which produces
an average of 80,000 ounces of gold
per year and where the company continues
to conduct exploration work to enable it to
extend its life beyond 2014.
Zacatecas will thus enable Mexico to
maintain its leading position among the
portfolio of countries in which Goldcorp
has investments, namely, Canada, the US,
Guatemala, Argentina and Chile.
“Mexico is responsible for 34% of Goldcorp’s
gold production worldwide ,” confirms
Bruna.
“When we say that Mexico is our star
horse it is because we believe it is economically
and politically stable, it is very friendly
and we are very happy to be in it,” he adds.
In this way, Mexico has contributed to
Goldcorp ranking in recent years as one
of the strongest mining companies in the
world, first with El Sauzal, where the Canadians
have worked since 2005, and now
with the enormous project in Zacatecas. It
will continue to contribute even further to
the ongoing growth that the precious metals
giant foresees over the next five years, a
period that could see its global production
of gold rise to 4.2 million ounces per year.
“We anticipate that 2013 will be similar
to 2012, production will remain in the order
of 770,000 ounces (across the country) and
investment will be 300 million usd spread
over the three mines, but mainly in Peñasquito,”
reveals the vice president in Mexico.
susTainable growTh
Goldcorp writes the word “sustainability”
in large letters. According to Bruna, it is
important for the company to have reached
a point of sustained growth after investing
heavily both in their mines and in the communities
where these are located. “you can’t
just come, dig and leave; you have to leave a
structure behind you,” he emphasizes.
The added value of Goldcorp, he continues,
lies in the support it provides for the
development of the communities around
their projects and the fact that practically
all the human capital of each mine is hired
in the same place. Bruna highlights, for
example, the case of Peñasquito, where
the company has proven the mining experience
of the inhabitants of this area of
Zacatecas, who have a long tradition in
exploiting these resources and are now
seamlessly integrated into the work of a
technological and modern mine and the
sustainable mining of the 21st century.
Moreover, professional posts have been
taken up by graduates in relevant fields
from the National Autonomous Univer-
sity of Mexico (UNAM), the University of
Guanajuato (UGTO) and the University of
Zacatecas (UAZ).
“We have enabled several professional
exchanges, with Mexicans working in our
mines in Canada and foreigners coming to
work here,” says Bruna, though he clarifies
that in the case of El Sauzal and Peñasquito,
all the staff is Mexican.
The standards flown by Goldcorp include
monitoring the safety of its workers,
their quality of life and the future prospects
that they can generate as a result of
their work in the mining developments.
“This is about involving others in the company’s
success,” declares Bruna.
Everything indicates that Goldcorp is
here to stay in Mexico. The vice president
of operations in the country sees no reason
for the company not to maintain the pace
of exploitation and exploration it has kept
up so far. The country retains, in his view,
the positive indicators relating to the legal
framework and financial situation that Goldcorp
analyzed before setting up in the field. “I
would say that, generally speaking, there is
economic stability that allows us to conduct
our business our way, as well as clear rules
that give us peace of mind,” he concludes. n
www.goldcorp.com