Gold mine January 4 (Cuatro  de Enero)  S.A.  (MACDESA)

Located in the municipality of Cuatro Horas, Cháparra District, Caravelí Province, Arequipa Department, Peru.

Legal entity: company – Ltd. Liability

Composition of the organization
The company initially was founded with 478 associates. Nowadays there are 372 associates of which 4 women and 2 widows that have taken the position and name of their husbands. The associates are organised in 4 working groups of 90 to 100 people:

  1. Los Verdugos
  2. Amigos Unidos
  3. Sarita Colonia
  4. Virgen de Chapi
Type of mine: Veins mine

Production: 240 metric tons of mineral processed monthly resulting in 11 Kg of 18 carats. 140 kg Annual.
Macdesa Mine Entrance

Background
Its origin goes back to 1997 when groups of miners worked individually and temporarily.  Because of problems in the year 2000 with the holder of the concession: the Company Southern Gold mine, and conflicts among themselves, they decide in the year 2004 to get organized in associations of artisan miners. First in ASPROMAC and then in ADEMIC and finally in the year 2004, becoming the Company MACDESA in order to proceed with the negotiations with the holder of the concession. They have finally signed a transfer contract for the life of the mine, a part from having their own concessions. 

To which umbrella organization, association or trade union the organization is affiliated?
They are affiliated to AMASUC and to the starting organization SONAMIPES (National Company of Artisanal Miners in Peru).

Associates’ and volunteers’ rights
The associates have equal rights and obligations as consigned in the company’s statutes according to the law for companies. 

Payment to workers
The payment of the 4 groups of associates is "to the pile ": the mineral extracted is assembled by the company and distributed at the end of the month: in the first place to cover the costs of the company; the common service charges and the remaining part is divided in equal parts for each associates as salary.  The working group:  Los Magníficos”  that are not associates, come to the mine to look for work and provided that there is need and vacancies, they get a fixed salary in cash for their temporary  work . They have a different system of administration. 

Families depending directly or indirectly from the mine
372 associates and 40 contracted workers, and traders, boarding houses, transporters, teachers, a doctor, nurses, makes up to a total of 550 families depending directly or indirectly from mining

Cuatro Horas Town
Photo Cristina Echavarria

What benefits brings the organization to the mining communities

  1. They subsidize electricity 24 hours per day at minimum cost.
  2. They pay for maintenance and salaries of a medical service for the whole community as well as the supply of drugs.
  3. They finance the maintenance of a day-care and primary school centre as well as the salaries of 7 teachers.
  4. The sports facilities for volleyball and soccer were built by the company and made available for the whole community as recreation spaces.
  5. They financed the construction of a Catholic chapel for the town’s patroness, the Virgin of Chapi.
  6. They finance the control, security and safety systems of both the mine and the town.
  7. The salary of the governing lieutenant and the sheriff of the community.
  8. They support the women in the manual selection work in a coordinated effort to avoid accidents.
  9. They finance the two trucks that collect the waste in the town.
  10. Parabolic antenna for two TV channels on cable.

Mineral rights
They have signed a transfer contract with Mining Hook that owns the title of the concession.  The transfer is for the useful life of the mine.  Besides this the company of the Community MACDESA has own concessions 400 Has, for which the State is paid yearly a right of use of 0, 50 USD per hectare, according to the qualification of the artisanal miner.

Contract with the owner
The agreement with the owner is a payment of 6% royalties, discounting the production costs.

Taxation
According to the existing legislation, with an accounting system and monthly and annual tax statements, carried out by a professional.  The general tax on sales is paid when supplies are purchased.  According to the annual turnover income tax is paid.

Main needs

  1. Strengthen the operations of explosives, drilling and support of the mine. 
  2. Lack of larger equipment for the agitation plant for a greater recovery of gold and to include specialized personnel
  3. A stripping action plant is needed.
  4. Know-how on commercialization, business management, self-esteem, leadership. 


Commercialisation
Gold is commercialised in amalgam to local buyers or buyers in medium size cities (Chala) or to companies: Colibrí, Paraíso, and Laytaruma. 

Until February each associates received his payment in mineral and he grinded it in the District of Cháparra.  From March on they have started centralizing production. The company processes it and distributes the payment in money.  The company MACDESA transports the metal. 

Processing technology
Milling, amalgamation, steaming. The tailings are sold to a different plant. They are installing their own agitation plant for cyanidation.

Transport
The company MACDESA transports the metal.

Main challenges faced in order to comply with the minimum requirements for the Standard Zero.

Environmental
Recollection of waste in town.

Economic
To have more working capital to be able to guarantee a constant production.
Capital for finalising the installation of the agitation plant.  Access to credit.

Labour issues
To enlist all workers on the payroll.

Commercialisation
Training to improve commercialization.

 Differentiation
We are a alliance of “different bloods” since there are miners from the coast, from the mountains, with their own habits, ways of speech, humour, dancing, singing and we have built a mining company, in order to have a stable source of income and we have formed a municipality.

Women Miners reading the “The Golden Bough: A Guide for Responsible Artisanal and Small Scale Mining”
By Cristina Echavarria