Under the slogan “Mining of the future: innovating, including, influencing”, the international Conference on Social Responsibility in Mining – Srmining 2015- welcomed more than 170 delegates who attended over 43 presentations. The event took place between November 4-6 November in the Enjoy Hotel in Antofagasta, Chile.
The Technical Coordinator of Srmining 2015, Cristian Parra, Director and Co-Founder of Analysis for Development Group in Australia, highlighted that one of the main aspects that made the technical program stand out in comparison with similar international conferences, was the participation of representatives from different fields such as academia, local communities, government, and the mining industry itself. For example, the talk “Building Networks for Local Development: The Case of Sanitary Improvement Project in the Town of Michilla” was given by the Mayor of the Municipality of Mejillones in Chile, Marcelino Carvajal, and Cristian Puga, Head of External Affairs and Sustainability, Minera Centinela.
The Vice-President of Sonami and CEO of Antofagasta Minerals PLC, Diego Hernández, emphasized that these types of conferences are important because they bring together key players in the industry to discuss issues that are of interest to them. “The program put together by Gecamin was well designed, with different topics, all of which are very important for the industry and not only with a short term outlook but also with a long term view”. According to Diego, this was an opportunity to get to know the experiences of different cases on an international level, which is “very enriching, and it helps us to know what is happening in other places”.
The President of the Supreme Court of Justice, Sergio Muñoz, attended the Opening Ceremony as a special guest and, in his speech, he pointed out the necessity for developing business activity while avoiding as much as possible the ”sacrifice of the rights of the people who should also see the benefits.”
The President of Srmining, Francisco Veloso, who is also the Vice-president of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability of Antofagasta Minerals and President of Minera Los Pelambres in Chile, stated that it was “very interesting to have the opportunity to welcome the President of The Supreme Court to the conference. It has been an important milestone, because it is not easy or frequent that a President of the Supreme Court participates in events of this nature”.
In addition to Francisco Veloso, the Executive Committee of Srmining 2015 was also composed of Deanna Kemp, event Co-Chair and Deputy Director at the Centre of Social Responsibility in Mining of the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) of University of Queensland.