Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin visited KGHM’s Sierra Gorda mine in Chile

KGHM’s most important foreign investment, the Sierra Gorda mine in Chile has been breaking records in mining and processing capacity in recent years, steadily improving its operating and financial results and contributing to KGHM’s budget. The mine was visited by Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin, who got acquainted with, among other things, the modern technological production solutions implemented at Sierra Gorda - all in line with modern trends in the mining industry.

 Sierra Gorda’s payable copper production in 2022 was equal to 90.8 thousand tons (KGHM’s 55 percent share). The sales revenues in 2022, on the other hand, amounted to  USD 1,617 million (for 100 percent of shares), or PLN 3,974 million according to the percentage of the shares owned by KGHM Polska Miedź S.A..

“KGHM is a leader among the world’s copper and silver producers. Sierra Gorda is the best example of how Polish companies are excelling in global markets. KGHM makes a product that is essential for Europe’s and the world’s energy transition. Copper is a strategic resource. That is why this foreign success of KGHM, one of the pillars of the Polish economy, is so important,” said Jacek Sasin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State Assets.

Since January of this year, the Sierra Gorda mine has been operating solely on electricity from Renewable Energy Sources. This change means stopping the annual emission of one million tons of CO2. In the mining process, the mine uses a number of innovative solutions, such as high-pressure roller crushers, which minimize energy consumption with their crushing operation. On top of that, it is the first mining company in Latin America to use an autonomous robot that counts the stock in the equipment warehouse. The data is available immediately in an integrated system.

“Sierra Gorda is the only copper mine in Chile that has exceeded its design objectives concerning its throughput. This drew the attention of our competitors and Chile’s government. We are a company that knows how to exploit deposits with low copper content and make them profitable. High-content deposits are very rare and most mining companies have to switch to mining ores with low content. We already know how to do it and are ahead of the competition,” said Tomasz Zdzikot, CEO of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.

Sierra Gorda SCM is the only mine in Chile that has exceeded its design parameters. The copper ore beneficiation plant was designed to process 110,000 tons of ore per day, and in 2021 the average daily processing throughput was 130,000 tons, which is 18 percent more than the plant’s design capacity. KGHM’s Chilean mine is also a pioneer in mining of ore with low copper content. Here is an example that illustrates the process: In order to load one truck with ore, you need to mine four trucks of waste material.

It must be emphasized that Sierra Gorda uses only seawater in the production process.

Water is crucial in the mining process because without water it would be necessary to use continental resources, which are in short supply in the Atacama Desert, considered the driest in the world. Therefore, the mine uses salt water. Only 10 percent of the seawater is desalinated and used in the molybdenum production process and in the operation of the camp for the workers located in the desert. The rest is not desalinated and is essentially used for copper processing.

The Sierra Gorda staff also boast a three-time world record with an excavator. Using a P&H 4100 XPC AC electric excavator, they managed to load 230,400 tons in 24 hours. This achievement, without precedents in global mining, was made in 2020. The record was later broken twice by the Sierra Gorda workers as well.

The Sierra Gorda mine is consistently improving the safety of its operations, aiming to achieve the zero harm goal. In 2022, the TRIR ratio was 0.17.

Like KGHM in Poland, the Sierra Gorda mine supports its workers and the residents of the region. Firefighters from the communities of Antofagasta, Sierra Gorda, and Calama can count on equipment, donations, and training. Since its inception, the company has implemented numerous health, safety, and sports projects for the local communities.

 Another important social project initiated by Sierra Gorda is the Community Trainee program, whereby Sierra Gorda residents with no experience are prepared for work in the mining industry and many of them are hired at the local mine. The fourth edition of the program began in 2023.