Editor’s Note
This article reports on a tragic mining accident in Peru that claimed 27 lives on May 6th. It details that the affected company, Minera Yanaquihua, had recently passed an international audit as part of a Swiss-backed responsible mining program. The initiative has stated it will continue its support for small-scale mining operations.
The Swiss government’s Responsible Gold Initiative, which trained and advised Minera Yanaquihua on best practices, responded to a questionnaire from Convoca.pe this week. The company’s facilities were the site where 27 miners died in a fire on May 6th.
The Swiss entity confirmed the value of services provided to the Peruvian miner was 60,000 Swiss francs ($66,000). This included technical assistance for Yanaquihua to obtain international certification from the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) in 2021, which endorsed labor rights and working conditions at the company. By that time, three miners had already died at its facilities.
When asked what conclusions the Responsible Gold Initiative had about these conditions, he replied: “RJC auditors have not evidenced areas of non-compliance on the issue of occupational safety and health.”
The Swiss official indicated the company, located in Arequipa, has been supported by the Responsible Gold Initiative since 2019. He explained it “provided technical assistance to Minera Yanaquihua to set up the gold export chain to Europe, including artisanal miners in the production.” Besides support for certification, it also helped the company “improve its due diligence system with artisanal producers in its area of influence” and develop a study on climate change, biodiversity, and water management.
Convoca.pe also inquired if the entity considered workplace accidents in its evaluations, as Minera Yanaquihua recorded 430 between 2011 and 2022.
Of the total workplace accidents accumulated by Yanaquihua, 196 cases resulted in serious injuries or disability for the affected workers.
Thomas Hentschel expressed that the entity he leads regrets the “terrible accident that claimed so many human lives” and has expressed its sorrow and support to the families of the 27 victims. He added that once the results of the official investigations by Peruvian authorities are known, the Responsible Gold Initiative will make a statement regarding improvements for the safety of workers in small-scale and artisanal mining.
This is not the first time that Minera Yanaquihua SAC, in whose Esperanza I adit 27 miners died of asphyxiation last Saturday amid a fire, has recorded fatal incidents at its Alpacay mining unit in Condesuyos, Arequipa. Convoca.pe confirmed that, in fact, four other workers died in the same mine in the years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022.
The company has a long history of workplace accidents. According to the Work Accident Frequency and Severity Index from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, reviewed and analyzed by Convoca.pe, Minera Yanaquihua reported 430 work accidents between 2011 and 2022. Of these, 230 were “minor accidents” and another 196 caused serious injuries or disability to workers, in addition to the four fatal events.