This week, the transfer of 500 tons of salt from Lo Valdivia, in the commune of Paredones, to the Barahona sector in the El Teniente Division began. The product will be used in the plans for the copper company's upcoming "Winter Operation" 2024, which seeks to safeguard safety on roads and pedestrian traffic in the area of operations when snow falls.

 The acquisition of this element by the state company was carried out with the Cooperativa de Salineros de Lo Valdivia, made up of about 90 people.

Luis Alberto Muñoz, president of the Cooperativa de Salineros, said that this agreement is a very important pillar for the local salt community: “For us, the alliance with Codelco is essential to maintain the sale of this product that we harvest every year.”

For his part, Germán Sandoval, manager of Sustainability and External Affairs at El Teniente, said that the link that is created between the division and the salt workers “is a connection where everyone wins. We acquire salt, which is very useful for our processes, especially in winter, and it is also important because we support a local economic activity that benefits our neighbors.”

The usefulness of salt

The Superintendent of Transversal Services, Víctor Medina, asserts that the purchase of salt from the salt producers of Lo Valdivia “is very important, because it is a support to small and medium salt producers in the purchase of this product.”

The latter is because the Division maintains special plans to safeguard security in transit areas, both for vehicles and pedestrians, within the framework of the so-called “Winter Operation.”

Part of these tasks, along with clearing roads with industrial sweepers, involve the use of salt on highways, industrial roads and areas where workers transit. Medina explains that on the Copper Highway alone, there are nearly 50 kilometers that must be salted frequently during the winter season.

“Salt is the most important element in this action, as it lowers the freezing temperature of the snow,” explains Néstor Ramírez, head of Road Operations at El Teniente. This speeds up the melting and reduces the risks during transport to and from the work site, dressing rooms, casinos and wherever people need to go.