With its length of 20.6 meters, height of 8.16 meters and width of 9.87 meters, the imposing dumper – mining trucks with a carrying capacity of 60 tons pass by loaded with limestone, make their way along the wide road that leads to the quarry, but even though it is inside the quarry, the panorama is not empty thread is totally gray. Green vegetation and birds soften the environment.

It is Cenaca, the Holcim quarry, in Guayaquil, which started working in 1990. It is bordered to the north, separated by a gorge, by the protected area of ​​Cerro Blanco, to the south by the road to the coast, to the east by the Fundación Probosque and to the west by the commune of Casas Viejas .

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In different parts of the quarry, which is spread over an area of ​​1,892 hectares divided into six blocks, the impression of a botanical garden is sometimes created, and this is because the company has a quarry rehabilitation strategy called Contra Avance, “and While we liquidate the fronts, we rehabilitate”, he explains . Cristhian Alvear, Holcim’s Quarry Operations Coordinator.

To liquidate the fronts means to close operations in areas where the intended resources have already been extracted. Currently, of the six blocks opened by Holcim, four have already been closed and rehabilitated, and today work is being done on the western part of block 5, which has also been rehabilitated, and the opening of block 6, a new zone.

Cenaca is the largest quarry in Latin America and one of the largest in the world, based on the volume it mobilizes. 5 million tons of limestone are extracted annually, which is used for the production of cement and clinker. The next largest quarry in the region, which is also part of the Holcim Group, is located in Argentina and produces 3.5 million tons.

In Block 5, Alvear points out that they have already rehabilitated two banks in the upper areas, where they have already removed material. “We are moving towards rehabilitation, for this year we plan to liquidate two more fronts and also carry out rehabilitation, in this way we are going one way or another, to compensate and mitigate the impact of the activities.”

Contra Avance started from a conceptual closure plan called La Cantera, which was established before the start of work, more than three decades ago, when all the resources to be extracted from the quarry were assessed. On the basis of this plan, progress was made in rehabilitation. “We gradually carry out progressive rehabilitation, year after year we allocate financial and personnel resources for rehabilitation, we do surgery, and we are also helped by Probosque, which is part of the Holcim Group,” noted the operations coordinator.

However, despite the fact that this plan was started more than 30 years ago, it is updated every five years, due to changing conditions and internal factors. Updating the plan depends a lot on what they are taking advantage of. “If the rate of exploitation increases, we must also increase the rate of rehabilitation, we always go hand in hand,” said the Holcim spokesperson. The company has estimated funds of 4 million dollars for the rehabilitation of the intervened areas. To date, 50% of these reserves have been invested, and the remaining 50% will be used for the areas remaining until the end of their useful life, which is estimated to take another 45 years, i.e. 2068, although Alvear warns that this is relative number because it will depend a lot on the production and commercial part; Therefore, this projection is adjusted from year to year.

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Elvira Tobar, Holcim environmental coordinator, reminds that according to local regulations the company is obliged to rehabilitate, but points out that Holcim’s plans are based on a corporate standard that is much more demanding and stricter than internal laws, which means that the company’s work in these areas is more focused on transformative rehabilitation. . “It goes far beyond just reforestation or restoration of the area. The designs are much more elaborate, much more structured.”

The expert points out that the company has an inventory of indigenous species of flora and fauna of the place: 219 species of birds, 54 mammals, 12 reptiles, 10 species of amphibians and 22 species of bats. Along with about 45 characteristic tree species of tropical dry forests.

Tobar assures that monkeys, cougars, anteaters, sloths, among others, have already been spotted in the rehabilitated sectors.

“Using the inventory, we can know which species are part of the habitat, to work together with Probosque, which has specialized personnel for identifying flora and fauna, and based on that, rehabilitation is done with native species that can bring them back. and habitat as such”, he comments.

Alvear also highlights the company’s Environmental Management Plan, which focuses on mitigating the impact of activities. It is an annual plan with quarterly cuts submitted to the authorities with periodic results and how they align with their closure plan.

The quarry also has buffer zones that separate the operation from populated areas or nature reserves. Alvear indicates that the company has acquired land that is not suitable for mining to create these areas. “They are between areas of exploitation and population growth, we even have an area bordering the Cerro Blanco protective forest that is owned by the Holcim and is intangible, but we have it as our own buffer.”

The quarry will be visited by a fleet of electric dumpers

Among these initiatives is the replacement of the entire fleet of trucks (dumpers) operating in Cenača, from diesel to electric trucks, he points out. Samith Botero, raw materials manager at Holcim.

“This is a long-term plan, we have already started with the replacement of the trucks, at the moment we are doing all the procedures for entering the quarry here, and the plan is to replace the fleet that is currently circulating with an electric one,” says Botero. Currently, there are five 60-ton trucks working in the quarry, which will be replaced by electric ones.

The procurement of two trucks for 2024 and two more in 2025 is underway, which would almost complete the replacement of almost the entire fleet with electric trucks that will have a higher capacity, 70 tons.

“We are also planning to look for new technologies in terms of chargers. There is an important challenge on the part of the companies that supply this equipment, because the chargers cause more battery wear due to their movement, so we are looking for alternatives with companies that will supply us with electric chargers,” says Botero. , which reveals that the investment in replacing the fleet is $3 million.

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Continuing on that line, the company announced this week the signing of an agreement with Renting Pichincha together with its strategic ally Grupo Lader, companies dedicated to sustainable mobility, making 42% of the company’s fleet environmentally friendly, bringing the company closer to its goal of decarbonization by 2050.

Dolores Prado, Executive Director of Holcim Ecuador, confirm that Holcim is the first company in the country to implement this type of action. “We now have 24 electric cars, 46 hybrids and 2 charging stations, which allows us to reduce more than 220 tons of CO2 per year, which represents 33% less CO2 emissions into the environment.”