• The goal is to raise the current 6% of female workers, and to do so, they have launched a training program.

Derek Cooke, president and general manager of Cerro Verde, has taken on the challenge and committed to increasing the presence of women in the operational areas of the copper operation located in the Arequipa region in southern Peru.

He mentioned at PERUMIN 36 that they have made strides in having more female employees in important positions within the company, but there is still a need to include them in jobs involving heavy machinery operation, welding, electricity, etc.

"There are many things we do very well, but we need to work harder to attract more women to our operations. The number of female employees has risen, but we have not done a good job recruiting women for operational areas. We have programs that we are implementing, and that is a challenge," he said.

Julia Torreblanca, vice president of corporate affairs at Cerro Verde, added that they have made a call within their area of influence to train women to operate large equipment. So far, fourteen women have enrolled in the program.

She pointed out that they are interested in increasing the presence of women, which is currently at over 6% at Cerro Verde, so that their presence will be significant in the coming years.

According to the Statistical Bulletin of the Ministry of Energy and Mines as of July 2023, there are 7.3% of women working in the mining sector in our country.

Taxes and Reflections

On another note, the president of Cerro Verde also highlighted that from 2006 to 2022, the mine contributed more than US$ 7 billion to Peru in taxes, fiscal redistribution (canon), and royalties. Its contribution makes up 2.6% of the national GDP and 34% of the GDP of Arequipa.

He noted that the company has 5,000 direct employees, and for each of them, 10.2 indirect jobs are created. Additionally, they have 4,600 contractors.

Finally, he mentioned that there is a bright future for Peru with the growing demand for copper, which will have a positive impact on the quality of life of Peruvians.