The Los Azules project strengthens its relationship with Calingasta, in the province of San Juan, through programs of education, training, and community participation that reached more than 4,800 residents. With a focus on employment, technical training, water care, and local identity, the initiative integrates districts such as Villa Calingasta, Villa Nueva, Tamberías, and Barreal, promoting comprehensive social and productive development.
By Panorama Minero
The Los Azules copper project consolidates its sustainable development strategy in Calingasta with a comprehensive approach based on education, workforce training, and permanent contact with the community. This was explained by the company’s Sustainability Manager, Lic. Mario Hernández, when detailing the scope and results of the social and educational programs the company promotes in the main districts such as Villa Calingasta, Tamberías, and Barreal.
In recent years, community engagement work has allowed a significant portion of the Calingasta population to actively participate in the informational and dialogue instances promoted by Los Azules. Between 2023 and 2025, more than 4,800 people from the department took part in the Citizen Participation Program linked to the dissemination of the content of the Environmental Impact Report, a very significant figure considering that Calingasta has just over 11,000 inhabitants. This level of involvement positions the project as one of those with the greatest territorial reach in terms of social participation in San Juan.
In the presentations carried out in 2024 and 2025, the main topics of interest for residents focused on employment, training, and water. Los Azules developed training and technical information sessions to explain the relationship of the project with the rock glaciers located in high-altitude areas, which are not part of the mine’s operational area due to compliance with the Glacier and Periglacial Environment Law. Work was also carried out on disseminating information about the hydrological system related to the project, mostly located in the Blanco River sub-basin, highlighting that it is a supergene enrichment deposit and that heap leaching of mineral will be applied. The strength of this technique lies in maintaining water in a closed circuit and recirculation system, which positions it among the projects with the lowest water consumption internationally and therefore with a lower water footprint in the production of pure copper plates in the San Juan mountain range.
The process of information and dialogue was essential during the preparation of the water concession request, currently under evaluation. In that context, Los Azules presented comparative consumption data with other watercourses in the province, which helped strengthen social trust. This perception was measured in 2025 through the “Door to Door” program, a house-to-house survey conducted by the project’s own team, with a georeferenced sample covering from Villa Nueva to Villa Pituil. The results showed homogeneous levels of social acceptance and trust, with no significant differences between northern, central, or southern zones, or among urban centers such as Calingasta, Tamberías, or Barreal.
One of the central pillars of Los Azules’ sustainability strategy is education and technical training. The company maintains strong collaboration with the Manuel Savio Technical School, an institution that trains mining technicians in Villa Calingasta. Through a professional internship scheme, the project facilitates the labor insertion of graduates and promotes direct knowledge of the safety, environmental, and technological standards that characterize modern mining. In some periods, more than 80 graduates from this school came to work in activities linked to the project, demonstrating the positive impact of this educational policy and the demand for trained personnel.
Los Azules also supports the expansion and modernization of the Savio School, in line with the need to prepare human resources for mining that is increasingly technified and demanding. The company identifies in the new generations a high predisposition toward the use of technology and virtual training, which reinforces the importance of improving connectivity and access to digital tools.
In this line, the project is advancing initiatives for training in artificial intelligence (AI), with the objective of implementing courses aimed at workers, teachers, and members of the community. The proposal, which will begin with the Savio School and extend to Calingasta, Tamberías, and Barreal, seeks to incorporate AI as an educational and productive tool, with the aim of even developing proprietary systems managed from the school environment, within a plan projected toward 2026.
Strengthening the Calingasta identity is another axis of community work. During 2025, Los Azules promoted a program aimed at highlighting the distinctive features of Calingasta, with special attention to wine and gastronomic production. Through integration workshops, links between wineries, producers, and the gastronomic sector were promoted, with the goal that the tourism offer incorporates and disseminates local wines and products. This initiative sought to consolidate a vision of comprehensive development, where mining coexists with and enhances activities such as tourism, agriculture, and regional industry.
Employability and training continue to be the main demands of the community, and in response Los Azules has developed the Community Training Program for the past three years. This initiative is based on strategic alliances with supplier and contractor companies to share technology and knowledge, through courses in surveying, operation and maintenance of heavy equipment, truck and 4x4 driving, drone operation, and green energy. The presence of the mobile classroom of the YPF Foundation, during its visit to Calingasta, also made it possible to expand the training offer in renewable energy.
Contractor companies working with the project have contractual obligations related to local employment and the participation of the value chain in Calingasta, promoting purchases from local suppliers and investment in education and health. In this way, Los Azules presents mining as a driver of comprehensive social development, with an active and sustained presence in the community life of Villa Calingasta, Tamberías, and Barreal, reaffirming its commitment to the sustainable growth of the territory.
