La Loma, January 23, 2023
As part of its commitment to take care of the environment, Drummond Ltd. carries out a plan at its mining operations each year to prevent and control forest fires, enabling timely management of this type of natural disaster and mitigating the effects of fires during the dry season.
Measures include:
- Campaigns to raise the awareness of employees, contractors, military bases, and neighboring farm owners. Drummond shares information with the different groups about specific actions that should be avoided in vulnerable areas.
- Firebreaks to keep fires from spreading by removing their fuel sources.
- Surveillance and early detection: forest guards, security guards, and the Colombian Army conduct daily patrols through areas vulnerable to forest fires.
- Wildfire response: this includes an emergency brigade, the installation of a command post, a fire truck with the necessary resources, square-point and round-point shovels, bulldozers, and 22,000 and 3,000 gallon water tankers.
“Boqueron, an area near the company with farms, is a priority, because it has a lot of dry grass, which is a great fuel for forest fires. And there’s also the power plant, with the vertical tanks where we store fuels, among other vulnerable areas of the company that we continuously watch out for and keep mowed,” explained Adrian Quintero, Lead Supervisor of the Road Department.
Drummond has groups of string trimmers to trim back undergrowth in areas heavy machinery cannot access, and the Road Department clears firebreaks using motor graders and tractors. The equipment removes the undergrowth at ground level to slow down the spread of forest fires.
“When the dry season is beginning in the region, we mow the sides of roads and clear firebreaks to prevent the spread of forest fires. The company does this work every year in order to protect human lives and the company’s assets,” said Guillermo Banque Posso, bulldozer operator at Drummond Ltd.
Drummond Ltd. thus continues to demonstrate its work to conserve ecosystems and safeguard the well-being of its different stakeholders by developing environmental strategies that prevent negative impacts from natural disasters.