For many years, Endeavour has worked with artisanal, small-scale miners in the Guanaceví community where we work. We consider these local miners a valuable part of our supply chain: we accept mill feed from the local miners that we integrate in our production process. Our plant managers supervise the delivery, weighing and sampling of the material, and arrange for payment. The economic benefits for the miners are important, with revenues they earn from Endeavour helping to support the livelihoods of them and their families.

In early 2021, we initiated a new process to work in partnership with local miners in areas of Endeavour’s concession where the company is not currently operating, in an effort to expand the amount of material we source from small miners. We engaged with the miners to ensure they met applicable laws and were duly registered with local authorities in order to formally issue invoices.

Results to date have been positive. In 2021, the inputs these new local miners brought to the company represented 11.2% of the total amount of tonnes processed. The local benefits included a new source of income that didn’t exist before for many members of the community, with a value of $9.6 million dollars directly paid to these small miners last year.