What is your job about?
We are dedicated to the mechanical maintenance of the equipment: cyclone pumps, mills, to keep them in operation.

We have a weekly schedule, which is delivered every Friday, which guides us through the tasks we have to perform on a daily basis. In the case of scheduled routes, there are lubrications, maintenance, spare parts changes, conveyor belts, in fact, all the equipment that transports the mineral to its final destination, which in this case is the mill.

We coordinate with management; if we need support, we ask other plants for it, but we do everything based on the procedure that indicates the step-by-step of all the tasks we are going to perform: number of people, blocking equipment, de-energizing, etc. We are the executors and those in charge of maintaining the equipment, but behind it there are also different people who interact; it is a joint effort.

What safety message would you give to the workers at El Teniente?
Personally, and what I see in my team, is that we have always been taught to be safe and that this is the most important thing. Safety first, then production. Behind us there are families, behind each colleague, behind each friend, there are people who are waiting for them to get home, who want to spend time with them.

I feel proud to belong to this great group of workers and I tell them to keep doing things well. If I take care of myself and my colleague takes care of himself, we will go down the right path.

How and when did you come to the Division?
I started my internship at the Sewell Plant when I was 18. I spent six months there in the milling industry and I liked the process of obtaining copper, it really caught my attention. Afterwards, I worked for a couple of contracting companies for a few years and I saw an application for Codelco. A few months went by and they called me to take the exams and here I am.

What do you feel El Teniente has brought to your life?
I am grateful for the time I have spent here, for the consideration that I have had as a professional. That is what makes me grow as a person, getting to know people, treating each other like family. It is important that this is your second home, we spend many hours of our lives here, that is why our colleagues are already family.

What does it mean to you to work at Codelco, a company that delivers its surpluses to all Chileans?
I feel proud to belong to the Corporation, a great corporation at a global level that has given me a lot in my professional life. Now, for example, I am studying. And perhaps from the outside you don't see the great contribution that Codelco makes to the country, but we experience it here inside.