Roque Benavides, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Compañía de Minas Buenaventura, pointed out that to achieve the sustainable development of the country it is essential to reach consensus between companies, the State and the communities, in which everyone plays a role under a vision of shared responsibility.

This was stated on the first day of keynote speeches at the central event of Heading to PERUMIN, organized by the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers (IIMP) that takes place from September 20 to 24 virtually and free of charge through its official website and social networks.

"In Peru we do not need confrontation but agreement, and, in this sense, the company cannot act alone, it needs the support of the State," said the Buenaventura representative in his presentation in the "Consensus for development sustainable" block.

He warned that it is not a question of saying whether a project will or will not go in the country, but of reaching an understanding with the future of the country in mind. "What we need is dialogue to reach consensus and achieve greater well-being for all," he said.

Clear rules

In this sense, he commented that within the consensus for sustainable development, the State must at all levels define clear rules, accelerate processes, generate favorable investment environments, provide basic services and invest appropriately; ensuring the contribution of profits.

With regard to companies, he pointed out that they must invest efficiently and responsibly, both economically, health, socially and environmentally, with a sustainable vision and shared responsibility.

He also stated that the role of the communities is to know the benefits of the private company of the mining sector, in order to promote a climate of harmony and understanding.

Moreover, Roque Benavides stressed that we must emulate world leaders in mining such as Australia in terms of maintaining constructive dialogue and respecting the law and the rule of law.

"This is what is done in Australia, the most competitive mining country in the world; we have to emulate those successful countries, the country deserves to be at that level", he said.

Sustainable Development Goals

At another point, Roque Benavides said that Compañía de Minas Buenaventura prioritizes four objectives that integrate its business with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): Comprehensive water management, Improved employability, Conditions for competitiveness and Diversification of local productivity

He reported that as part of its Comprehensive Water Management goal, the company recirculates more than 90% of the water in its operations. "There are people who talk about the circular economy, this is a clear application of the circular economy," he said.

In the case of its Improving employability goal, he mentioned that the company generates 62% of the regional workforce, S/ 115 million in local services and S/ 16 million in local purchases.