2020: Cerrejón, La Guajira and COVID-19

One year has passed since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 a global pandemic and countries around the world adopted varied and unprecedented measures to control the widespread transmission of the novel Coronavirus. In Colombia, the government mandated a national lockdown which resulted in the suspension of mining activities at Cerrejón for 42 days while new safety procedures were designed and implemented to ensure we could operate responsibly and provide wide-ranging supports to the population of La Guajira.

In March 2020, Cerrejón significantly reduced operations – sending over 4,000 workers home with salaries and benefits – while focussing solely on essential tasks such as equipment and infrastructure maintenance; compliance with legal requirements on environmental issues; and fulfilling contractual commitments which needed to be met. In parallel, strict health and safety measures were rolled out throughout the operation to protect workers and communities, including:

• Training of more than 5,000 workers in best practice behaviours to prevent the spread of COVID-19;
• Daily disinfection of vehicles and work areas;
• Adaptation of all work areas in the mine, port, and Bogotá, including the introduction of remote working arrangements wherever possible;
• Changes to transportation arrangements to ensure adherence to recommended safety measures;
• Health monitoring of vulnerable workers and workers with pre-existing conditions;
• Employee training and strict monitoring of five mandatory health and safety behaviours: social distancing, frequent handwashing, daily symptom reporting through the proprietary app developed by the company; proper use of safety equipment; and, no gathering in crowds;
• Start-up of a production plant to make disinfectant and antibacterial gel;
• Development of an engagement guide to minimise risk of infection in the communities;
• Implementation of a screening strategy to proactively identify cases of COVID-19 and ensure  prompt isolation of symptomatic and asymptomatic cases.

In the midst of the worsening health crisis, Cerrejón redirected its social investment to help La Guajira and, by extension, its employees and their families, as uncertainty continued to impact the regional economy and forced people to restrict all movement. In 2020, Cerrejón invested more than $ 3M USD in support of Guajiran communities and to enable the health sector to respond to the pandemic:

• Delivery of 36 million litres of drinking water;
• Distribution of more than 50,000 mercados (food and hygiene parcels) to ethnic communities; Protective and hygiene items were also delivered, including 25,000 face masks for communities neighbouring the operation;
• Donation of the first molecular biology laboratory, which is operating in La Guajira, for PCR tests to detect COVID19 and other viruses;
• Delivery of 100,000 medical supplies to health professionals, including three mechanical respirators;
• Donation of 400 pieces of equipment (stretchers, foetal and vital signs monitors, electrocardiograms, among many others) to hospitals in the region;
• Donation of more than 15,000 tests – PCR and serological – for preventative analysis;
• Donation of power transformers to the municipalities of Fonseca and Hatonuevo in La Guajira and a new electrical generator for the Barrancas hospital;
• Donation of two ultra-cold freezers to store COVID-19 vaccines, and an electrical generator that guarantees continual operation of the equipment and prompt availability of vaccines.

In the context of Cerrejón’s most challenging year: significant operational restrictions for 42 days at the beginning of the pandemic; the 91-day strike which completely halted all activities; and, the reduction in international demand and a significant drop in coal prices; we have sustained our humanitarian efforts in commitment to the communities that have relied on our support.

“Undoubtedly, this has been a challenging year. The decrease in the operation caused by the emergency created by COVID-19, where we made huge efforts that let us restart our activities slowly and safely, leaving our most vulnerable employees at home for their own protection. We prepared and adopted new measures for our collaborators, such as the mass testing we did of our employees and contractors, extensive disinfection of equipment and facilities, and retraining for all the people who interact at Cerrejón. At the same time, our support for La Guajira in dealing with the pandemic, which we continue doing today, has never wavered, including supporting the National Vaccination Plan with the delivery of ultra-cold freezers”, confirmed Luis Marulanda, Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications at Cerrejón.