Sustainability, innovation, and collaboration were the keywords of CEO Summit 2018

The 7th version of this meeting, held within the framework of ASIA COPPER WEEK, focused on the great lessons that the end of the supercycle of metals left behind, and the need to focus on sustainability and innovation, as well as collaboration between companies and communities

About 40 leaders of the world’s leading companies participated in a new version of CEO Summit 2018, held on November 15th during the copper week in China, organized by the Center for Copper and Mining Studies (CESCO).

Leopoldo Reyes, Cesco Chairman, opened the meeting with welcoming words, emphasizing on the relevance of the so-called fourth industrial revolution and its technological changes that are only accelerating, and the importance this brings to the industry. “Humanity is on the eve of major changes and gigantic challenges that require cooperation rather than confrontation. We are committed, by organizing this encounter, to cooperate actively in the reflections and actions to make the big opportunities come into fruition”.

Minister of Mining Baldo Prokurica attended the meeting, who focused his speech on two key concepts: adding value and sustainability. At the end of his words, he congratulated CESCO and CNIA for making the discussion possible.

Alejandra Wood, Executive Director of CESCO, put the framework of the conversation through a presentation of the key findings of the book “Mining for Value”, where industry leaders refer to the lessons learned after the end of the supercycle of metals.

Iván Arriagada, CEO of Antofagasta PLC, one of the leaders interviewed in the book, said that people in the industry are willing to learn and that today sustainability is at the forefront of the discussion. “Operational excellence is important too, and innovation will help the industry achieve these new goals”, he said.

For his part, Daniel Malchuk, President of Operations for America of BHP, said that the ecosystem is more complex now, so there must be a focus on social value, given that diversity is important in every aspect. In that sense, Tom Butler, CEO of ICMM, aimed to think about the long-term with the communities, since they are the true partners of the mining companies. He also called the attendees to be willing to have the communities in their boards.

Meanwhile, Wei Jiaming, Deputy General Manager of Baiyin Nonferrous, indicated that the focus should be “on increasing production through innovation” and repeated the importance of working together to have a great impact on society. Also, Steve Kukoda, Vice President and Executive Director of ICA, proposed to build a partnership for sustainability, given that “a real impact cannot be achieved by a company on its own”.

Regarding the prices, Song Xin, Chairman of China National Gold Group, recommended that the industry focus on cost control. In any case, he added that there is a lot of work to be done from the environmental point of view.

Along similar lines, Shang Fushan, Deputy President of CNIA, pointed out that all those who attended the meeting have made great efforts to achieve sustainability, this being a permanent focus. The executive said that during the last few years he has seen a proper performance of the companies, but the environmental requirements have not been met. His message was “not the biggest, the merriest”.

Finally, Duncan Wanblad, CEO of Base Metals and Minerals of Anglo American, thanked the work done with the book “Mining for Value”, assuring that much of what is found there is common sense. He stated that the lessons have not been learned yet, so the decision making should be very clear. He recommended keeping the book in every desk of the decision makers of the industry.