Taking care of the environment is ingrained in the hearts and minds of our employees. 

During the summer of 2021, Arizona had a wildfire that burned through 73,000 hectares, followed by intense rainstorms that caused flash floods over the scarred land. The US Forest Service wanted to ensure that contaminated runoff water wouldn’t be released into Pinto  Creek, harming the waterway and recreation values. 

Our Pinto Valley team wanted to do their part. They quickly assembled a team for a soil stabilization project on an area identified by the US Forest Service. Over two days, they rebuilt an access road, taking care to keep water channels open, and trucked in loads of straw wattles – like thick ropes of straw – to slow the runoff and prevent further erosion. Then, on their day off, 13 volunteers pitched in to place and secure the wattles.  

Pinto Valley’s Senior Mine Coordinator Dave Grove, a third-generation miner, was one of the volunteers. He explained how it felt to work hand in hand with the US Forest Service to protect the local environment. “People may not realize that historically mines around here didn’t take such good care of the land,” he said. “So you can make yourself proud as a miner when you see yourself as a steward of the environment. People here like to go out in the hills for recreation. It was a big sense of accomplishment to protect that and to see the US Forest Service so pleased with how we did the job.” 

Dennis Palmer, Pinto Valley’s Operations Support Superintendent (third from the left), is the third in his family to work for our operation. His maternal grandfather, Ron Ray, was General Foreman at Pinto Valley. Ron worked at Pinto Valley for 36 years and retired in 2009. Dennis’ father still works at Pinto Valley as a Metallurgical Technician. Dennis’ daughter, Madison Palmer, was a summer intern in 2020 and 2021. While acknowledging that mining is in his blood, Dennis stays for “the busy pace, the interactivity, being in the field and helping to solve problems.” For more information, read Dennis’ story.  

In 2022, Cozamin received the Company Committed to Human Rights award by the Human Rights Commission of the State of Zacatecas, an award that recognizes employers for their commitment to human rights, including dignity of workers, prevention of human trafficking, equality and non-discrimination, protection of personal data, and inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace. 

In addition, Cozamin was awarded the Ethics and Values Award in the “Multinational Companies” category by the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of Mexico in 2020. This award recognizes companies who have developed a culture governed by ethics and values.  

Pinto Valley is the first mining company to earn the Arizona Veteran Supportive Employer badge from the Arizona Coalition for Military Families. Pinto Valley is a supporter of the Hire Our Heroes (HOH) Fellowship Program, which provides veterans with meaningful career paths after their military service, and the opportunity to build on transferrable skills as they transition to the private sector. 

Doug Middleton is our first fellow from the HOH program in 2021. Doug worked closely, under the mentorship of Jason Green, veteran and now Supervisor, Execution, on Pinto Valley’s Operational Excellence team. This is what Doug and Jason had to say about their experience:  

Doug said, “I am fortunate to have Jason as a mentor and I’m grateful to him for helping bring me into the mining industry. I’ve seen several friends leave military service with a desire to continue to serve and contribute to a cause. Some veterans find that in corporate settings and I am finding it in the mining industry. Mining draws on so many parallels with military service but what excites me the most is that copper holds a strategic value around the globe. Copper is a critical component in the devices that make up our everyday lives and, to me, being part of the production of copper is being a part of the service to the nations.” 

Jason said, “Our goal at PVM is to provide veterans with meaningful career paths after their military service.  Hiring Doug has been amazing also, because he has proved himself a valuable asset in Operational Excellence.  We look forward to attracting more talent like Doug to enhance the PVM Team”. 

Doug Middleton was hired into a full-time role as Senior Operational Excellence Advisor.