Unidad de Producción Cerro Verde

About the Program
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) operates the Cerro Verde Mining Unit approximately 20 kilometers from the city of Arequipa, Peru. The area is located in the dry streams of Querendosa, Linga, San José, Tinajones, Enlozada, Quebradita and Huayrondo and is characterized by a set of hills and chains of relatively rugged mountain ranges typical of the Andean Foothills. In 2003, Cerro Verde developed a Biodiversity Action Plan that establishes actions, objectives, goals and indicators the company must meet. Key objectives include mitigating the impacts of its activities in the cactus desert and scrubland, evaluating the characteristics of native plant species, analyzing the temporal dynamics of the vegetation to determine the resilience of the desert ecosystem and motivating its workers and society to respect biodiversity.

Practices and Impacts

• The team maintains a nursery in which species of native cacti are researched and propagated for later introduction into the 360-acre habitat area. The team has successfully replanted and achieved excellent survival rates for Weberbauerocereus weberbaueri in the streams of Linga and Querendosa, Corryocactus aureus in the Siete Vueltas stream and Cumulopuntia sphaerica and Oreocereus hempelianus in the San José stream.
• Since 1995, Cerro Verde has engaged in studies evaluating the social structure and feeding habits of guanacos. The guanaco is designated as "critically endangered" under Peruvian legislation due to declining populations, habitat loss and poaching. The team actively participates in conservation efforts to benefit the guanaco, including planting vegetation common in their diets, constructing mud wallows and drinking facilities. The facility also works to eradicate feral dogs and warn motorists of collisions with guanaco and treats injured individuals at its on-site veterinary hospital.
• Cerro Verde installed bird deterrents to keep avifauna from becoming injured by buildings or equipment and helps rescue and rehabilitate marine birds. The team monitors species richness and has recorded as many as 56 species at drinking sites installed on campus, with special emphasis on the endemic cactus canastero, black metaltail and the white-throated earthcreeper.
• The team protects and monitors the endemic nectivorous Peruvian long-snouted bat throughout the site by limiting access to closed mine shafts with bat gates, propagating and planting their main food source W. weberbaueri and leading educational programs within the community. These efforts are aligned with FCX’s corporate bat conservation strategy and Historic Mine Opening Safety Program (HMOSP). 
• Cerro Verde actively prevents and controls the presence of invasive rodents and hares on its campus and shares data with local authorities in alignment with Peru's initiative to address these species.