KNOW THE NEW SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL PROPOSALS OF THE DOMINGA PROJECT
21 January 2022 |
To strengthen and consolidate our commitment to the inhabitants of the commune of La Higuera and the Coquimbo region, we present additional 56 innovative proposals that will allow us to develop a world-class project.
We have studied mining operations in developed countries, such as the United States, Australia and Canada, places where port mining activity coexists with the preservation and care of the environment, identifying those relevant aspects to replicate in our country and transform ourselves into an example of green mining, sustainable and compatible with the serious climate change crisis.
- QUALITY OF LIFE
- It will provide La Higuera with infrastructure to produce desalinated water for human consumption. For that we have invited the Rural Drinking Water Committee of Caleta Los Hornos, Quebrada Honda, La Higuera, Chungungo, El Trapiche, Punta Colorada, Los Choros, Punta de Choros and even Llano de Los Choros, currently in formation.
- Provide a hyperbaric chamber to the Regional Hospital of Coquimbo for the health and safety of fishermen.
- Establish a public-private alliance for the construction of a Polyclinic and/or School in La Higuera.
- Sponsor a Center for the Elderly in the commune of La Higuera.
- Sponsor a technical-professional secondary school in mining and metallurgical processes in La Higuera.
- Provide infrastructure for the installation of 1,000 Home Photovoltaic Kits in La Higuera.
- Manage the installation of a fuel service station in La Higuera.
- PROTECTION OF BIODIVERSITY AND THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT:
- Reduce the maritime traffic area by 85% in relation to the initial proposal presented, minimizing the possibility of collision with cetaceans, in an area where more than 2,000 ships pass each year.
- Reduce the flow of ship traffic to just one ship per week.
- Promote the active participation of OCEANA or other NGOs in the Center for Scientific Studies.
- Expand the exclusion zones for the purposes of navigation, to an area greater than 223,000 hectares, being greater than the polygon of the Marine Coastal Protected Area of Multiple Uses.
- Promote the elaboration and materialization of the management plan of the Marine Coastal Protected Area of Multiple Uses.
- Bring forward six months the monitoring of the impacts linked to the marine environment, in the construction stage.
- Implement a Humboldt Penguin Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.
- Develop a Pilot Plan for breeding Humboldt Penguins in captivity.
- The Center for Scientific Studies, independent and binding, will develop a line of research focused exclusively on the care of the Humboldt Penguin.
- The Center for Scientific Studies will develop a line of research focused exclusively on the rescue and rehabilitation of the Chungungo.
- Periodically monitor the population status of the Humboldt Penguin at the scale of the entire archipelago.
- Create a Chungungo Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.
- Voluntary rat control measure on the Pajaros 1 Islet, thus allowing the protection of the eggs of the species that nest there.
- Public-private alliance with a National University and with NGOs specialized in caring for the environment in relation to Chungungo.
- Establish a strict protection and care of a radius of 350 meters for the Totoralillo Norte Islet at all events, in which the navigation of any type of vessel or activity of the Project will be prohibited.
- Extend the protection radius of 450 meters for the Totoralillo Norte islet, where all activity and transit of project vessels will be prohibited during the breeding season of the Humboldt Penguin.
- Measures to minimize both the movement of people and the activities in the dock area during construction, away from the Totoralillo Norte Islet.
- A pile-driving plan to build from different work fronts simultaneously and minimize the time of interference in the most sensitive periods of the protected species.
- Have professionals specialized in environmental matters and biological sciences, for each sector of the project.
- All human resources that will work at Dominga, both contracted and subcontracted, will be trained in environmental issues.
- Permanent dissemination of illustrative material to contractors and contracted personnel on the care of the Humboldt Penguin and its nesting period and behavior.
- Install a buoy with a hydrophone at the height of the Islotes Pajaros, to maximize precautions and travel with extreme care, in case of the presence of cetaceans.
- The Center for Scientific Studies will develop a line of research exclusively focused on underwater noise.
- Strengthen the monitoring plans linked to the AMERBs.
- The Center for Scientific Studies will develop a line of research focused exclusively on plankton productivity and bio indicators.
- Use the best technology, proven and promoted worldwide, in terms of desalination plants.
- AVIFAUNA:
- Develop a monitoring and follow-up plan for birds in the area.
- Carry out an applied study to evaluate the effect of lighting on birds.
- Integrate the Yunco duck and other species in the plans for the Recovery, Conservation and Management of Species in Punta de Choros (“COLLECTION plans”).
- Address a line of research from the Center for Scientific Studies focused on population dynamics, habitat and distribution, feeding patterns, nesting, breeding and behavior, and the ecosystem services of the Yunco duck.
- Develop additional scientific studies prior to the installation of the lighting in the storage fields.
- SUPPORT FOR PRODUCTIVE SECTORS:
- Develop a Pilot Plan for the Enrichment of Areas for the Management and Exploitation of Benthic Resources (AMERBs) with native species from the coast of the commune of La Higuera.
- Enrich the AMERBs of Caleta Totoralillo Norte, providing seeds with benthic resources.
- Compulsory insurance against accidents caused by ships in the event of any contingency resulting from the operation of the project.
- Implement a processing plant for the sustainable production of seafood.
- Manage and support the creation of a Groundwater Community in the Los Choros Basin.
- Generate purchasing power for copper sulphide minerals for small-scale mining.
- Transfer water rights of 10 liters/second to the Olive Growers of Los Choros.
- DECONTAMINATION:
- Asphalt the main dirt road in El Trapiche and Los Choros.
- Install meshes to stop the wind in the olive plantations in the town of Los Choros.
- Remove mining liability from Quebrada Los Choros in the Confluencia sector.
- Remove mining liabilities from the Los Choros stream, between the towns of El Trapiche and Punta Colorada, depending on the will of the owners of the surface land.
- RENEWABLE ENERGY
- Supply 100% of the project’s energy from renewable sources by the year 2030, of which 50% may be generated in the commune of La Higuera.
- Implement buses and electric vehicles for the transportation of personnel.
- Have an investment fund for the incorporation of Green Hydrogen to its mining operations and industrial processes.
- LIGHT STANDARD
- Incorporate the best practices worldwide in the design and operation of our entire lighting system, to reduce any light impact on astronomical activity and biodiversity, during the construction and operation of the project.
- Comply with all the standards established in the new light pollution standard currently under discussion.
- WATER COLLECTION AND RETURN SYSTEM
- Review every 5 years from the approval of the project, our Worksite Closure Plan in relation to the Water Collection and Return System from the South Rajo, in order to apply new technologies or available alternatives to decrease and reduce closure times.
- Implement a system of fog catchers and dew collectors in Cerro Los Choros, to contribute to the natural flow of the La Boca Wetland protected area.