Por: Artemio Pérez Pereyra y Kelyn Alpaca Becerra, Compañía Minera Antapaccay.

Abstrac

The aim of this technical paper is to report on the scope, development, updates, and results of Antapaccay’s Social Risk Management and Conflict Transformation System (2.0). 

In the mining industry, there is increasing awareness that the key variable for the development of a mining project today is achieving social viability, understood as tacit or explicit agreements with neighboring communities and stakeholders within the surrounding territory. There are socially sensitive areas where the challenge is greater. Espinar, located along the Southern Mining Corridor, is one of the most socially complex areas.

We have structured the social performance strategy through a risk-based approach. The use and detailed analysis of information made it possible to understand the territorial dynamics and establish a comprehensive strategy, supported by various tools capable of addressing this complexity.

The main outcomes of the social risk management system can be summarized as follows: an early social warning system has been implemented, achieving timely detection of 96% of potential social incidents globally, and 100% of alerts related to possible Type II and Type III incidents. 100% of the alerts have had an action plan for deactivation and a contingency plan in place within the operation to prevent or mitigate impacts. The greatest value of the system lies in the contingency and impact mitigation plans, as they have fostered a culture of managing critical operational inputs in a different way (as part of the contingency plan).

In the case of incidents, 100% have had a de-escalation plan, and they are being deactivated in progressively shorter periods of time. All incidents follow a management cycle that is completed through the processing of lessons learned, with the purpose of improving the system and strengthening the management capacity of the social management team.

During the analyzed period, there were 74 alerts with the potential to escalate into Type II and Type III incidents, of which 84% were de-escalated in time and did not become incidents. Of those that did escalate into incidents, the majority (9 out of 12) were concentrated in the first half of 2023, within the context of the national political unrest and while the model was transitioning into its 2.0 version.

The reduction to zero Type III incidents over the last two years, and to only one Type II incident during the same period, represents another achievement of the system (in 2022 there were nine Type II incidents).

Data analytics has made it possible to understand the recurrent causes of alerts and incidents, the stakeholders behind claims, the locations of protests, the relationship between alerts and the grievance and complaint system, and the updating of the heat map, among others. 

On the other hand, the level of complexity of the social environment has led us to develop additional tools such as the controversy management plan, the good neighbor program, and the commitment compliance plan, among others.

 Both the alert system and the incidents themselves are key inputs for improving the social performance strategy, as lessons learned are drawn from them and incorporated into the community development plan or the territorial development plan.