Osisko ESG Principles and The San Antonio Project
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Osisko ESG Principles and The San Antonio Project

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Cinthya Alaniz Salazar By Cinthya Alaniz Salazar | Journalist & Industry Analyst - Thu, 08/26/2021 - 16:20

You can watch the full presentation here.

Fernando Martínez, Operations General Manager at Sapuchi Minera, Osisko Development Corp highlighted the significance of implementing imported ESG standards and how they have informed the design and development of project sights Oxide Stockpile and Sapuchi Gold.

Osisko Development a newly created premier North American gold company based in Canada, had acquired the 11,000 hectare San Antonio Gold Project at the end of August 2020, and has since been working hard to fast track operations.

"We are working to be able to start our operations as quickly as possible. Therefore, we are conducting a drilling campaign and metallurgical tests. In addition, our environmental permits are in process, as well as the development of our PEA," Martínez said.

Initial resource estimations based on historical data indicated that the project site in Sonora had about 1.1 million ounces of gold spread out over three adjacent zones: Sapuchi, Golfo de Oro and California. After exploration and metallurgical testing, the company concluded it would begin with two new project sites, Oxide Stockpile and Sapachi Gold, set to start within the year.  

The company confirmed that the Sapachi site could yield about 1 million ounces of gold. Currently, the company is working on the design and construction of the Sapuchi Gold site where they will begin their operation. It is to be built over a dismantled copper processing plant, and is anticipated to yield between 50,000 and 60,000 ounces of gold annually. Simultaneously, the company has discovered six more promising drilling sites covering 15 km, where the current objective is to increase the potential yield of these areas.

In order to minimize risk to surrounding communities and the environment, the company has expressed that the development of all their projects in Mexico will be informed with ESG practices from their parent company which are sustained by three main pillars: education, safety, and environmental protection.

“We firmly believe that we can achieve our mission of becoming a Mining Exploration and Exploitation company, [while] simultaneously creating benefit and lasting value for our stakeholders, highlighting above all the communities influenced by our areas of operation,” said Martínez.

So far, the company has attempted to form a community alliance by demonstrating their commitment to education by providing school utilities, tablets and hygiene products for schools. Beyond that, they are trying to convey a genuine concern for their safety by delivering free purified water, employing a community doctor who will provide free consultations, as well as a fully equipped ambulance. Furthermore, in order to combat COVID-19 disinformation and vaccine hesitancy they have enacted a visual campaign which has led to a 70 percent vaccination rate among their employees.

Lastly, the company has made great efforts to reduce environmental risks by meeting all required environmental standards, and going so far as referring to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) to access the damage caused by the pool leakage from Grupo Mexico in 2015. In order to avoid this very same problem they have focused heavily on reinforcing existing pool equipment, water monitoring, and developing contingency plans explained Barry Quiroz, President of Sapuchi Minera in a former interview with MBN. Overall, the company views these commitments not has a hinderance, but as a strategy to they way they operate saying:

“We consider our environmental and social performance a key and fundamental strategic objective of how we think mining activity should be. Reducing the impact of our operations represents the fundamental purpose of who we are as a mining company,” said Martínez.

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