We have the pleasure of sharing with you a new Fairmined Certification in Peru: the Minera Aurífera Cuatro de Enero Sociedad Anónima cooperative (MACDESA), following the example of its precursor CECOMIP, which obtained the Fairmined Certification in 2016.

MACDESA is located in the district of Arequipa, close to the old Centro Poblado menor Cuatro Horas, where mining has always been part of life for the 500 families that make up the community. MACDESA since its inception has provided basic services such as electric lighting, health services, educational support for the children of workers, and partnerships with the local school through the hiring of teachers. Also in 2015, when a fire destroyed the old Centro Cuatro Horas, demolishing about 90% of the homes, MACDESA provided support for those affected by assisting with the relocation, feeding needs and installation of emergency tents.

On the path to the Fairmined Certification, MACDESA significantly improved its production system, its social and environmental responsibility, as well as its commercialization process of the gold. An example of this was when the mining organization made substantial changes to improve the housing conditions of the workers in the mining camp with the creation of new rest areas and a social space.

MACDESA also stands out for the key role played by women miners within the organization, gathered in the foundation Asociación de Seleccionadoras de Mineral de Cuatro Horas (ASDEMIC). In fact, women’s meticulous work consists in selecting the mineral that still has a gold value from among the debris that the miners remove from the mine. The mining organization values the work of these women and protects them through a series of agreements made to improve their working conditions and the professionalization of their work. With the Fairmined Premium, which contributes up to $ 4,000 USD per kilo of Fairmined Gold sold, MACDESA will continue to support the association. In fact, the organization plans to invest part of the Premium so that the women miners can establish a company which will provide services to the mining organization itself and the community.

To know more about Macdesa, click here.