As technology has advanced, environmental care has entered a new era in which innovation and scientific knowledge make it possible to protect and even improve certain conditions of vulnerable ecosystems and biodiversity in a timely manner.

This is the guiding principle of the environmental team at Anglo American, which together with Mitsubishi Corporation operates the Quellaveco copper mine in the Moquegua region. This is where a Platform for managing local biodiversity has been implemented.

Based on the Sustainable Mining Plan, one of the lines that drives its Future Smart Mining strategy, Anglo American is reimagining mining to improve people's lives. This is how we are working towards the ambitious objective of generating a Net Positive Impact, i.e., at the end of Quellaveco's useful life, it is expected that the areas of influence of the mine will have the same or better environmental conditions than those existing at the beginning of operation.

Moquegua has several species, such as the queñua, which is used for domestic activities in the Andean areas, and the suri, a protected species that has been endangered by predation. How can we help local flora and fauna, especially sensitive species, to live in a favorable environment? Anglo American's BiDaA-Q project is helping to find the answer.

This initiative is a monitoring and evaluation tool that uses artificial intelligence and collects a large amount of information in real time, through state-of-the-art equipment. With this, it is possible to know what the environmental conditions of a habitat are in order to make appropriate decisions to protect it.

With the active participation of national and regional authorities, representatives of civil society and communities in the areas of influence of Quellaveco, technical spaces for research and conservation of biodiversity in the region are promoted. An example of this is the repository of 179 species of local flora that Quellaveco gave to the herbarium of the National University of Moquegua, which can be used to further scientific research.

In addition, the technology used to monitor the fauna has made it possible to record new information, such as the sounds emitted by the suris for mating, something that will help predict behavior and facilitate their protection.

Achievements such as these have earned the Platform for the efficient management of biodiversity in Moquegua the recognition of the National Mining Society, awarded in the recent edition of the Sustainable Development Award 2022.

proEXPLO 2023: Descubriendo la Minería del Futuro