What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

The successful transition of the Quellaveco Project to a mining operation has been perhaps the most important professional challenge of my career. Delivering a mining project worth more than $5bn on time and on budget, despite the fact that 2022 was one of the most violent years in Peru from a social and political point of view, demonstrates the solidity and seriousness of the work carried out. An operation that in its first year of operation alone is already contributing almost 2% to the national GDP; a state-of-the-art mining project, the most modern in South America, which embraces the use of technology such as the smart mining® programme for the use of autonomous trucks, sustainable and environmentally friendly, and with a strong component of regional and local labour. It fills me with pride to have contributed from our field to deliver to my country a project that certainly already has and will bring benefits and further development.

It has not been easy. There have been many challenges over the past year, especially in terms of obtaining permits to start production, as well as marketing, closing project contracts, etc., while simultaneously monitoring the social unrest that could affect our objectives at any time. We are now focused on completing some works and perfecting the start-up of others that will allow us to maximise production, as well as take advantage of the start-up of molybdenum production with the completion of the plant. Those who are familiar with the Peruvian mining sector know how difficult it is to start a large mining project here.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most?

AI is here and we cannot avoid it, I try to get my team to adopt and embrace the use of technology especially to alleviate the consumption of man-hours on certain types of tasks that divert us from our core business. At the AngloAmerican legal group there is already an initiative called “Legal Operations” which seeks to facilitate the burning ambition to be partners who bring value to the business. In addition to taking care of the back office and the red carpet, what we are looking for with this initiative is that the in-house lawyer can make use of these IT tools to free himself from repetitive tasks, such as contract drafting, systematising his different reporting obligations, as well as budgetary control, focusing on what is of most interest to him and thus providing value in business decision making, making us true business partners of our internal clients.

But this is not limited to the above: we are looking to make the most of the technology, for example, we are currently working on a project for the preparation of visual contracts that seeks to provide a better understanding to the counterpart in terms of their rights and obligations, especially when the educational level is low, for example, in the case of labour or supply contracts with local populations. Our aim here is, among other things, to generate equality, in line with our values of care and respect.

What is a cause, business related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?

There is one thing I always tell my team and ask them to prioritise: family and health. I believe that a healthy and united team that performs well must be based on each of its members achieving a perfect balance between personal, family and work life. Regarding the latter, I try to ensure that my team develops a sense of belonging to the business, that they feel part of it, that they share its successes and failures as if they had invested in it. I always seek to enhance their capabilities and their development, as individuals and as professionals, I inspire them to take the law as a “base” but not as a result: a holistic vision allows them to better identify the risks to which we are exposed and to find creative solutions. The solidarity of a team is the best demonstration of an acquired culture.