Good afternoon, everyone, thank you for joining us today at First Quantum's first ESG Day. At First Quantum, we are proud of the contribution that our mines make to society. Our responsible approach to environmental, social, and governance matters is a key part of how we run our operations, and we see ESG as a core part of safe and productive mine performance.
Today, our sessions will focus on the sustainability strategies that we have implemented across our business and how this is translated into responsible mining at our operations. I've spent many years living at our operations, firstly in Zambia and then in Panamá, and I have seen firsthand the positive impacts that mining projects can bring to communities through economic development and investment, and to the environment through the conservation and mitigation work that we are involved with.
The copper and nickel that we mine have an essential role to play in global decarbonization, as well as the ongoing development of emerging economies through the broader benefit of those countries. Without more metals, and therefore mining, the global goals of getting more electric vehicles onto the road and transitioning economies to increase renewable power sources will simply not be achieved. However, new mining projects are taking longer to explore, longer to permit, and longer to build. Establishing support for new projects and greater trust with stakeholders, whether it is from local communities, host governments, or investors and lenders, is a challenge faced by the mining industry as it looks to increase the pipeline of supply of these critical metals.
The expected increased demand for our metals, together with a heightened ESG focus, underlines the importance of our responsible mining strategy. Mining is no longer simply an extractive industry, and achieving operational excellence means being socially responsible and environmentally sensitive. At First Quantum, sustainability is inherent in our operating model, and our approach to ESG centers on real projects that deliver tangible outcomes. We see that a responsible approach to mining can also drive better productivity and safety in our operations. For example, our push for electrification in our major operations in Panamá and Zambia improves productivity and reduces capital investment, even as it reduces the volume of fuel we burn and the emissions we produce. We see that establishing long-term relationships and earning support from communities, employees, and governments is key to durable investment stability in our host countries.
I am joined here today by colleagues from across our business who will give some insights into what ESG at First Quantum means in practice, and the actions we take to deliver value to our stakeholders. Continued innovation has an important role to play as we seek to deliver metals in the most sustainable and cost-effective manner. That's why I've asked Gordon to speak about how innovation is driving sustainability at First Quantum. In Zambia, a country in which we have operated for more than 20 years, the support that we have earned from our local community and local employees has been key to the success of Kansanshi, Sentinel, and now the Enterprise mines. Ercan will talk through how we engage and work with local communities to ensure participation in the benefits that mining has to offer.
Health and safety is a critically important topic that requires our continued focus. Tragically, this was underlined earlier this year following a fatal incident at our Sentinel pit. Teza will highlight how we ensure that health and safety is fixed into the First Quantum culture.
Mining responsibly means minimizing, mitigating, and addressing the impacts of our activities. We operate across a range of geographies. How we do this is therefore highly context-specific, particularly when it comes to managing biodiversity risks. Andrew and Blanca will outline the approach that we take to biodiversity and what this looks like in practice at our newest and largest mine, Cobre Panamá. Moving to the opposite end of the mine life cycle, closure and rehabilitation are an important consideration in the lives of our mines, which starts at the planning stage. Rehabilitation begins with the start of operations and progresses throughout the mine life through to closure.
Maria, from our recently closed Pyhäsalmi mine, will elaborate on how we go about this. The safe storage and management of tailings is a key operating and environmental consideration for First Quantum. We have well-established operating practices, controls, and oversight in place, and we're committed to continuous improvement. Carlos will present our approach as we seek to maintain our excellent track record in tailings management, with a focus on how this is applied at Cobre Panamá. I will now hand over to Simon, who will talk further about how our pragmatic approach has informed our climate change strategy and the progress that we are making.
Thanks, Tristan. Climate change is a global challenge, and we at First Quantum recognize the role that we have to play in helping the world to decarbonize by delivering the transition metals that are so essential to shifting us away from fossil fuel-based energy systems to ones based on minerals. I've worked for First Quantum for getting on towards 10 years. During my time here, I've worked with a diverse range of teams across the business and have seen firsthand how sustainability is an integral part of the decision-making process that really is embedded in the culture of our company. As the world seeks to increase renewable energy and the use of electric vehicles, the energy transition represents an exciting opportunity for us at First Quantum as a responsible miner and one of the world's leading producers of copper and nickel.
We embrace the responsibility that we have to take direct action to address climate change within our own business. As the world looks to decarbonize energy and develop electricity networks in emerging economies, we know that we need to lower the carbon intensity of the copper and nickel that we produce and deliver. We published our first climate change report, Aligned to Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, at the beginning of last year. In it, we set our ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets based on tangible projects with pathways to achievement. Over the past 12 months, we've been progressing towards delivering on those projects. When we set our 2020 base targets, we quickly identified power in Zambia and in Panamá as being the key drivers of the carbon intensity of the copper that we produce.
In 2022, more than half our greenhouse gas emissions were from the electricity that we use to produce the copper and nickel that the world requires in these increasing volumes, with this principally being driven by our three largest operations. In Zambia, more than 90% of the power that we draw from the grid is renewable, largely hydroelectricity. That said, copper mining is energy-intensive, and we see the opportunity to increase the renewable power used by Kansanshi and Trident Mines towards 100% renewable sources.
The grid in Zambia is getting greener, with new hydroelectric capacity installed and commissioned in recent years, increasing the proportion of renewable power in the Zambian grid and therefore also to our mines. Last year, we announced an early-stage project with Total Eren and Chariot Power for the development of additional renewable power projects in Zambia.
This is a combined 430 MW wind and solar project, funded and constructed by Total and Chariot, which would see First Quantum as the off-taker. Following the introduction of Zambian legislation in recent years to facilitate market entry for independent power providers, we have been engaged in discussions with ZESCO, the state-controlled utility, around the structure of commercial terms, which we need to be competitive, as well as consideration of technical integration with existing infrastructure. With our project partners, current focus of the project centers on the environmental, social, and technical feasibility studies. We're progressing with environmental and social impact studies for the project sites that have been identified for both the solar and wind infrastructure. These projects, while reducing reliance on fossil fuels, will also provide additional power generation in Zambia, as well as diversifying and de-risking energy supply to our operations.
In Panamá, where we operate a 300 MW coal-fired power station, our greenhouse gas emissions associated with the power station account for close to half our Scope 1 and 2 footprint. This is therefore where we will target a step change towards achieving our greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. We acquired this power infrastructure, which was fully engineered and ordered, partially assembled when we took over the project through the acquisition of Inmet Mining in 2013. Given the availability of power in Panamá at the time, it was the appropriate course of action as we constructed and commissioned this mega project. With Cobre Panamá now in steady operation, we acknowledge the need to move to cleaner sources of power for our operations.
With the expansion to 100 million tons per annum throughput, or CP100, we identified an opportunity to start to reduce the proportion of thermal energy at our operation. Overall, we'll achieve this in three phases, aligned to our 2025 and 2030 absolute emissions reduction targets. In the 3rd quarter of last year, we confirmed the achievement of the 1st step. The Panamánian authorities approved a long-term, fixed-price power purchase agreement with AES Panamá for the additional 64 megawatts of power required for our now commissioned CP100 expansion project. This power will be fully renewable from existing in-country capacity at a price that is consistent with our current cost of generation. That's including depreciation and the coal collars that we have in place until the end of this year.
With this power agreement, which comes into effect from the start of 2024, once the expansion is fully ramped up over the balance of this year, we'll then see up to 20% of the electricity powering operations at Cobre Panamá being renewably sourced. Our second and third steps will directly address the emissions generated by our coal-fired power station by transitioning away from the coal power provided to our operations by the two 150 MW units. By 2025 and 2030, respectively, we expect to transition a 150 MW tranche of the energy currently provided by coal power to alternative and lower carbon sources.
We expect to be able to increase the amount of renewable energy that we can source on the Panamánian grid for the first tranche based on the existing capacity that is expected to be available by 2025 from the grid. The second unit, we do anticipate that additional renewable capacity in country will be required for that final step that will move us entirely away from coal by 2030. Renewables can be challenging in Panamá, with limited scope for further expansion of hydroelectric generation, which is predominantly run-of-river and therefore exposed to variability in weather patterns. Coupled with low solar intensity and infrequency of low winds only available in limited parts of the country, means that natural gas, which has around half the carbon intensity of coal, will play a part in the final step of our transition away from the power station.
With this in mind, we've undertaken with the Government of Panamá to perform a study of the power market in Panamá. This will provide us, together with our stakeholders, a base of understanding of power requirements, projects due to come online, as well as identifying opportunities to develop and support the expansion of renewable and greener sources of power generation in Panamá. This project is being led by an international firm specializing in the region's power sector, appointed by First Quantum, and working in close collaboration with our teams in Panamá. This study is underway and will be completed this year, this will help to inform us on how best we can increase our use of renewable power while achieving a just transition.
As we move away from coal power, we're conscious that we must do this in a way that is just for all parties, through reliable and cost-effective power, not only for our own operation, but also for the wider country of Panamá. We've previously seen spikes in power prices across Panamá when planned maintenance has taken place, or renewables have been impacted by deviations in expected weather, such as reduced rainfall, low levels of wind, or higher cloud cover.
Last month, we saw a projected shortfall in firm power supply in the country. The result was a reliance on that standby generation in Panamá, which is diesel fuel power generation, very similar in carbon footprint to coal. That means that during certain periods of our transition away from coal, we recognize that we may need to continue to operate the coal-fired power station at higher levels due to Panamánian grid baseload power requirements as we integrate alternative, lower carbon sources of power.
Our focus on decarbonizing the power at our three largest operations will deliver us the step change that we're looking for in reducing the carbon intensity of the copper that we produce. This is in addition to the comparatively low carbon nickel produced by our Ravensthorpe mine, and soon, one of Africa's largest nickel mines, Enterprise in Zambia. For our new development projects, we have implemented a range of carbon prices, as well as related metal prices. The prices that we use are consistent with the IEA scenarios that we use in our climate change scenario analysis.
For our new development projects, we have implemented a range of carbon prices, as well as related metal prices. The prices that we use are consistent with the IEA scenarios that we use in our climate change scenario analysis. These aim to ensure that we consider and incorporate, firstly, the resilience of projects to potential carbon taxes or levies, and secondly, to incentivize the use of lower carbon technology as we seek to lower and maintain a low carbon intensity of the metal that we produce.
Although we have not set a net zero commitment at this time, our 2025 and 2030 targets are aligned to the IEA's Net Zero trajectory, and they are consistent with the Paris Agreement global warming goals. As emphasized by Tristan, we're a pragmatic company and take a similar approach with respect to sustainability and our actions on climate change. We favor setting tangible pathways based on real projects and the delivery of our commitments. That said, we continue to work closely with the OEMs to monitor, develop, and implement new technology. As this technology that will provide us additional decarbonization pathways becomes available commercially, we will revisit our targets and update them accordingly as we look to implement this technology.
Our next phase of decarbonization will mean addressing the harder to abate emissions. Principally, that means tackling diesel emissions, which currently represent more than a quarter of our carbon footprint, and once we reduce our power-related emissions by 2030, it will then represent around half the group's emissions. Although our targets are based on the projects that we're currently implementing to reduce electricity-related emissions, we're also focused on a number of proposed projects targeting energy efficiencies in these areas through the use of technology and innovation, and leveraging our in-house technical expertise. With that, I'll now hand over to Gordon, who'll talk through a few of these.
Thanks, Simon. Mining and the metals that the world needs in increasing volumes is energy intensive. As a responsible miner, this means improving how we use energy within our business. Furthermore, this means using the most appropriate energy sources and also leveraging technology and innovation to reduce the energy we require. Our culture at First Quantum, and the people who underpin that culture, are vitally important to our ongoing success. Our approach to innovation and technology leverages this culture and our people as we continuously seek to develop, challenge, and improve the way that we do things. We are focused on delivering tangible projects from a mine to mill that will deliver real change, both with more traditional forms of innovation, such as comminution, optimization, in-pit crushing and conveying, as well as trolley-assist, through to technology-driven innovation, leveraging data in areas such as blasting optimization.
The First Quantum culture means that challenging the status quo is encouraged, and we all feel empowered to effect change and share learnings with our colleagues. We work closely with our original equipment manufacturers, not only to ensure that we have access to new technologies, but also to drive their successful implementation into our operations.
Comminution is the process of blasting, crushing, and grinding ore into smaller particles for liberation. This is a major consumer of energy, accounting for up to half the energy used at our operations. Therefore, anything we can do to reduce the amount of energy required in the milling circuit has the potential to deliver the most significant and important energy savings. Blasting is the beginning of the comminution process, and the use of explosives to fragment the rock is more energy efficient and cheaper than the mechanical breakage done by crushing and grinding.
At First Quantum, our goal is to optimize blast fragmentation through our understanding of the properties of the rock. We combine drilling data gathered from blast holes with the block model to inform machine learning, which in turn predicts blasting domains. This optimizes blast designs and delivers the level of rock breakage that is best suited to our downstream processes. Our blasting approach therefore targets on a hole-by-hole basis, rather than by an entire blast block. To monitor blast results and feedback into our models, measurement systems are used to quantify fragmentation in the pit and in the process plant.
Continuing our focus on the use of energy in our mining operations, we have a long-standing objective of maximizing the use of electrical power in our drilling, load and haul operations. With global ore grades declining, more mining volumes are required to keep up with the levels of production of copper and nickel that the world requires. As Simon mentioned, diesel represents more than a quarter of our greenhouse gas emissions. We therefore see pit electrification as important, not only in driving efficiencies in energy usage, but also in decarbonizing mining.
As a high-volume miner, one area we identified as having potential to reduce mining truck haul cycles was through the use of in-pit crushing and conveying. At our two largest mines, Sentinel and Cobre Panamá, much of the ore haulage is done by in-pit conveying, reducing haul distance and consequently, the need for diesel trucks. Although upfront investment in the infrastructure and integration into our mine plans is required, it yields operational efficiency and financial benefits.
In Panamá, we estimate that this means that we need seven fewer ultra-class mining trucks and saves us around 20 million liters of diesel each year. In Zambia, where electricity is more than 90% renewable, using in-pit crushing and conveying means replacing diesel with greener energy. In 2022, we saved more than 30,000 tons of CO2 as a result. That's about the same as about 7,000 cars. Central to our pit electrification strategy and increasingly important to the next phase of decarbonization is the use of trolley-assist technology. Trolley assist is a real and pragmatic example of how we've applied an engineering solution to deliver operational, financial, and sustainability benefits to our operations.
Working with our equipment suppliers, we've spent over 10 years adapting and implementing trolley-assist technology across our three largest sites. As you can see, mining trucks fitted with pantographs connect to overhead power lines installed on our up ramps. Whilst connected to the overhead power lines, electric wheel motors are engaged, which means that for the part of the each truck's cycle, when the truck is driving fully loaded uphill and requiring the most energy, the truck's diesel burning engine runs idle. The diesel savings are particularly significant. Up to 90% less diesel is consumed. Instead of the trucks consuming 600 L of diesel per hour, this drops to as low as 60 L. The benefits are numerous. On a 700-meter stretch of trolley line, the use of electrical power provides increased speed on the gradient, and truck haul cycles are reduced by up to three minutes.
We see cost savings not only through diesel consumption reductions, but also on truck maintenance with extended engine overhaul intervals. Furthermore, we see safety benefits from the improved traffic management associated with trolley-assist. Thanks to renewable energy in Zambia, we are effectively swapping fossil fuels for renewable power. As we decarbonize power at Cobre Panamá, and where we have the world's largest ultra-class fleet using trolley-assist, we'll start to see similar carbon intensity benefits to complement the broad operational advantages that trolley-assist brings. Simon noted that we haven't set a net zero target in the absence of commercially available technology that will get us there. However, we have continued to advance initiatives that will progress us towards closing that gap.
We're currently exploring the potential for semi-autonomous load and haul with the trial of a trolley and crusher guidance system at our Sentinel mine, with expansion at Cobre Panamá. This could provide us with a large portion of the savings associated with fully autonomous trucking through shorter haul cycles, while retaining the operating flexibility of our mine fleet and the efficiencies of in-pit crushing and conveying. We see the potential for trolley-assist to act as a bridging technology for battery trucks. That philosophy is key to our ambition to significantly expand our trolley-assist network at our largest operations. At present, we have more than 8 km of trolley lines at Cobre Panamá, Sentinel, and Kansanshi, all currently on up ramps out of the pits. We are targeting up to 50% of our haul cycles at these operations.
At Cobre Panamá and Sentinel, this will increase the lines from a couple of kilometers to around 10 km. Over time, we want to create a culture where trolley-assist becomes standard for our haul trucks. Linked to this, we currently announced a technology partnership with Hitachi Construction Machinery for the delivery of battery trucks to our Kansanshi mine by the end of this year for feasibility trials. These trucks will leverage our existing trolley-assist network and offer the potential for smaller batteries, with reduced charging time that would lower the carbon intensity of our copper. We at First Quantum understand that the key ingredients of innovation are collaboration, creativity, resilience, and diversity. We try to create a working environment that encourages everyone to think and challenge the status quo. Good ideas can and do come from anyone, regardless of title or position.
After all, people are always at the forefront of innovation. This will continue the great legacy of our past. Ultimately, people can achieve extraordinary things in extraordinary time frames. Thank you. I'll now hand over to Ercan, who will talk through our social and community engagement.
Thanks, Gordon. I am pleased to have the chance to speak with you today about some of our social activities. For 11 years, I worked for our Çayeli mine, leading our social programs and community relations. Similarly to Tristan, I have seen firsthand benefits that mining projects can bring to communities. In the last year, I have been excited to take on a broader role covering all of our operations. I have visited almost all of our operations and projects. I have seen for myself many great community projects. What impressed me most was the level of engagement and strong relationships that my colleagues have built with communities and stakeholders at large. We believe this is a strong foundation for any successful and sustainable community program.
We prioritize collaborating not only with host governments, but also by involving and engaging with our local communities, starting from design through delivery. When we talk about communities, we are also talking about ourselves, our managers, our colleagues. Our suppliers are living within and are part of these communities. From the early stage of project development, we engage with local communities to establish relationships and build trust centered on our pillars of respect, benefit, and engagement. This help us to develop an understanding of social and cultural areas that could be affected by our operations. In developing any project, as part of our Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, we follow internationally recognized principles on human rights to incorporate the rights and belief of people into our operating models. At our recently completed project, Cobre Panamá, we successfully completed the voluntary resettlement of indigenous Ngäbe peoples in 2017.
Our process was guided by our pillars, as well as the internationally recognized standards and principles of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. The success of the process was thanks to the strong relationships that we built with the communities, liaising with them in their native Ngäbere language and working with international experts and the government of Panamá. We also developed programs and provided continued support in partnership with the government, education, health, and social development agencies as part of an indigenous people development plan. At the core of the trust that we strive to earn from our communities is the open and regular engagement that we have between our teams and community leaders, NGOs, local government, and churches, to name a few.
We have teams at each of our mines whose responsibility it is to maintain dialogue with our stakeholders. All of our operations engage with local stakeholders through regular broad-based consultation committees, as well as community officers out and about in the communities. In addition to our regular, formal and informal dialogue, an important element of our engagement are the grievance mechanism that we have in place at our operations. Through these mechanisms, we seek to ensure that all grievances are documented, assessed, and resolved in a timely way that's culturally and socially appropriate. In many instances, grievance mechanism not only reduces social risks, but also creates opportunities that benefit both communities and operations. I'll give an example from our Çayeli mine. Beekeepers near Çayeli mine previously raised concern that the underground gas emissions were detriment to the health of their bee colonies.
They believed that the company was responsible for the loss of nearly half of their bee colonies during winter every year. Monitoring indicated that there are no harmful decision, emissions from the mine. However, it was extremely difficult to persuade the beekeepers. I was personally involved in the community conversations, and it was so hard to convince them with our scientific evidence. Eventually, we decided to hire a beekeeping expert and provided education and practical training to the beekeepers. The expert eliminated a variety of beekeepers' errors and improper practices. The loss of colonies dramatically decreased from 50% to 5%, and their revenues increased almost three times. Since our respectful engagement, support from the communities has increased, and no similar grievances raised.
Mining is a driver of economic activity. In addition to taxes and royalties, the multiplier effect results in significant value for communities through jobs, supply chain, and our community investment programs. In Zambia, it is estimated that each new mining jobs creates 11 other jobs. 95% of our workforce is Zambian, and last year we spent almost $1.2 billion with Zambian registered companies. When it comes to community investment initiatives, we aim to build capacity in our host communities to ensure a better and sustainable way of life for our communities well beyond the life of mine. Working in collaboration with the government and the communities, we focus on four key areas: livelihoods, education, health, and infrastructure. These pillars correspond to the areas where community expectations are the highest.
By engaging with the government, we can improve access for our communities to the services they require without taking that primary responsibility that sits with the government. This collaborative approach results in increased participation from our stakeholders and drives the sustainability of the projects. Taking into account the feedback that we receive, our community relations team prioritize high-impact projects. Given the diversity of the locations in which we are based, these vary according to base and community needs. For example, in Mauritania, we are delivering literacy training courses for local women. When I was there recently, I saw for myself, the excitement and the genuine relationships with our community relations teams. We have been operating in Zambia for more than 20 years, working closely with our communities and government. We have supported and funded a number of infrastructure projects, including roads and airports, but also schools, clinics and water infrastructure.
In Kisasa, a town close to Trident, our solar infrastructure provides water to over 8,000 people. In the same area, we work closely with the local community to build schools that they need, with the Ministry of Education to provide teaching staff. Books, desks, and other learning materials were also provided by Trident and are maintained by community leaders. Improving access to education remains important, especially as we look to increase Zambian participation in our workforce and develop our future leaders. This means investing in education beyond the mine gate and from an early age. Our scholarship programs sponsor hundreds of students at primary and secondary level each year, as well as in skills or vocational training.
Our Kwambula Center at Solwezi Trades Training Institute provides trade and apprenticeships and qualifications across a number of artisan skills. The majority of the graduates have gone on to work at our mines. With the success of the center, the intake expanded this year to provide skilled professional talent to Zambia.
In developing our education programs in Zambia, a particular area of focus of has emerged. Girls in Zambia have a much higher dropout rate than boys due to a number of factors, including early marriage, teenage pregnancy, and menstruation. Zambia has elevated levels of gender-based violence. Our community relations teams conduct the gender-based violence assessment to better understand and illustrate the scale and cause of social vulnerability.
We have developed a number of initiatives focused on the education of girls. Our Jimuka! p rogram, first launched at Kansanshi and then at Trident under the EDGE program name, targets girls dropping out of school due to awkwardness that they feel associated with their menstrual cycle. This program was developed with school girl, or school officials and health professionals to help educate boys and girls in their own language. We provide feminine hygiene products every month to hundreds of school girls to reduce their hygiene and sanitation vulnerability, and are sponsoring a number of girls through direct support of their schooling. To date, thousands of girls have benefited from this program. These initiatives complemented the support services that we help maintain in the wider community. Seeing positive changes in the life of vulnerable people makes my job meaningful.
It drives me and my colleagues to find more creative ways of broadening the participation of our neighbors in the benefits brought by mining through real and tangible projects. In late 2021, we launched our BBN Health Program. This is an umbrella for our health and wellness initiatives as we seek to improve the health of the company's neighboring Trident and Kansanshi. Through BBN, we aim to improve the community access to healthcare services by working with the health authorities and other organizations. Areas of focus for program included education and training on HIV and AIDS, malaria prevention, water sanitation, and hygiene, and school nutrition. The final of our four community investment pillars is focused on development of livelihoods.
Consistent with our approach to building capacity amongst our communities, we aim to provide people that are directly affected by our operations with improved livelihoods opportunities. In northwestern Zambia, agriculture has long been an important source of income for the communities living around our mines. We saw the potential to have a positive impact on their livelihoods through more sustainable farming techniques to deliver better crop yields. This resulted in the development of our flagship conservation farming of nutrition program. As well as intensive training in conservation farming techniques, we deliver education in nutrition and encourage farmers to diversify their crops and maize to provide their families with better diets.
Since the launch of the program at Kansanshi in 2010, farmers have, on average, increased their yields by as much as 200%, enabling them to move from subsistence farming to small-scale farming. In 2022, around 9,000 farmers participated in the program at Kansanshi and Trident. This interaction between our communities' livelihoods and the importance of local ecosystem and the learning taken from this program has informed the development of similar programs in Panamá. At First Quantum, we are committed to extracting resources responsibly and place a great importance on environmental and social responsibility. We will continue work with and contribute to our local communities to help build a sustainable future beyond the life of our mines. I will hand over to Teza. He will talk about our approach to safety.
Thanks, Ercan. As Tristan talked to in his opening comments, the safety of our workforce is of utmost concern for all of us at First Quantum. Our goal is to ensure that at the end of each day, everyone goes home safely. Core to how we operate is our belief that there is no job that is so important that it cannot be done safely. With this in mind, we take a slightly diverse approach to how we manage health and safety across our operations, as we recognize that we need to continually do better. With health and safety, as is the case in many areas of our business, we are mindful to avoid over-reliance on policies and manuals to govern every aspect of safety in our business.
Instead, we want our workforce to take shared responsibility in managing the risks, with focus on accountability and performance through the tools and training that we provide them with. Our THINK! Safety program is central to our approach as we embed health and safety into our culture. It is based on Crew Resource Management, which was pioneered by the airline industry in the 1970s. THINK! focuses on problem-solving through a behavior-based approach that is centered on teamwork, decision-making, and communication. Using concepts from THINK! employees and contractors apply their minds to identifying and reporting of hazards, performing job risk assessments, and implementing critical controls in response to these when carrying out complex tasks.
We first launched THINK! in 2016. As it's been rolled out across the globe, we have noted a more positive safety culture has emerged. This is regularly reinforced in the workplace by senior management through employee engagement as opposed to policy. During the engagement sessions, which are conducted in an open and collaborative way, freedom of expression in matters of health and safety is encouraged, and management strives to address issues raised. We have found that this strategy has been effective in sustaining the ongoing development and continuous improvement of our safety culture. THINK! has evolved since the first launch, first incorporating our THINK! Fatal Dangers initiative into job risk assessments, and more recently, the My Reason to THINK! campaign, which we launched last year. This campaign, through emotive messaging, reinforces personal responsibility for individuals' and colleagues' safety.
To facilitate our safety messaging and communication throughout the group, over the years, we have developed Safe Hub, a digital center for safety communication materials in multiple languages. This is used by our teams across the company through training, videos, manuals, and also through interactive mediums such as industrial theater and games. Our approach to health and safety applies to our employees as it does to our contractors who are involved in our day-to-day communication about and management of safety performance.
Over the past 12 months, alongside our My Reason to THINK! campaign, we've been developing and enhancing how we manage contractor health and safety. Contractor health and safety starts at the tendering stage. The awarding of our contracts is contingent on our safety teams being satisfied that all relevant documentation, controls, and monitoring mechanisms are in place. Our contractors commit to compliance with our safety philosophy, and that means that we work closely with them to ensure appropriate safety planning and training is undertaken before setting foot at our operations.
It brings me pride to see wholehearted engagement by senior management in driving a strong safety culture. It brings me even greater joy and contentment to see my colleagues and coworkers implement our THINK! philosophy in their day-to-day activities, both at work and in the community. At Kansanshi, we care for the safety of our people, not only by addressing hazards that are obvious in the workplace, but we also provide educational support for their physical and mental well-being. Mental health awareness and wellness programs are easily accessible through our on-site occupational health services as we acknowledge their role in our colleagues' psychological safety. We have gone further by conducting engagement surveys to get feedback on how people feel about freedom of opinion, management support, diversity, inclusiveness, non-discrimination, and the broader culture at work. Sharing ideas, goals, and strategies is one of our strengths as an organization.
Safety managers from all First Quantum operations meet annually. When we met early this year, it was great to share ideas like the use of technology, such as virtual reality, to provide training in hazard identification and standard operating procedures. Establishing and maintaining safety awareness across our operations and in our communities is tackled with a diverse and wide range of tools and techniques. For example, at Kansanshi and Trident, the use of industrial theater has been very effective in implanting the safety messages in the minds of people. Safety leaders provide a script to the drama group about a particular area or task requiring special attention. The theater group members then act the script in drama form and apply their expressive artistic skills as they perform in front of employees and contractors from various departments across site.
Such performances leave a positive and long-lasting impression in people's minds and have proved to be successful in changing the mindset of the participants, directing them towards improved safety behaviors. We have also realized that in order to be more successful in achieving our safety targets, employees and contractors need to be aligned with our safety strategy and key performance indicators well in advance. At the beginning of each year, our safety objectives are communicated across the operation to employees and to contractors. We co-categorize these as leading indicators, lagging indicators, compliance requirements, continuous safety improvement areas, and emergency response preparedness. Performance against these objectives is communicated and reviewed on a monthly basis in smaller groups and on a quarterly basis in larger groups.
One of the leading indicators that has proved to be very impactful is our Visible Felt Leadership initiative, led by our general manager. The leadership team proactively engages with the workforce to discuss health and safety matters on a personal level. This promotes openness in reporting and identifying opportunities to do better. It has been observed that once employees' suggestions are acted upon by management, this encourages engagement and sustains our safety and continuous improvement culture. Lagging indicators are simply statistics of incidents that have occurred over a specific period of time. We communicate these numbers and their severity to the workforce on a daily basis through the daily safety report. Supervisors and safety representatives from each team, contractors, and suppliers in various departments review these and share key learnings and action plans with their teams.
As we all know, emergency situations may arise from time to time, and it is important that we are prepared. As with all First Quantum operations, Kansanshi is equipped with an emergency response team. We recently formed a mine rescue team specialized to attend to emergencies related to the recently commissioned underground dewatering project. These teams are given the necessary practical training in emergency rescue operations. We continuously test their skills retention and capabilities by regularly organizing emergency drills, as well as participating in emergency rescue competitions with other mining companies. Kansanshi and Trident have emerged winners in most competitions that are held annually between the major mining companies in Zambia. We also participate in annual inter-mine first aid competitions organized by the Chamber of Mines in Zambia. Last year, Kansanshi scooped the second position out of the 20 mining company teams from across Zambia.
We have deliberately allowed training practical sessions by other mining companies to be conducted at our premises at least twice a year in order to learn from them, and also to build partnerships as backup teams in case of a major disaster. This year, however, we experienced a tragic incident resulting in the death of one of our colleagues at Trident. Our emergency response team responded very swiftly and saved one life. The investigation undertaken will be thorough, and learnings are being shared across our company, and the necessary actions taken to reinforce our commitment to safety and to keep ourselves safe at work each day. At Kansanshi, we recently erected a big statue named Mr. THINK! which was unveiled during the commemoration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work.
The statue is clearly visible as you arrive at the mine site and reminds us all of the need to keep safety first, and also that safety is bigger than anything else that we do. We will now have a short break before Andrew and Blanca will then speak about our approach to managing biodiversity.
Welcome back, everyone. We operate in a variety of geographies across diverse environmental settings. For biodiversity, in particular, we don't believe that a one-size-fits-all approach delivers the highly context-specific actions and strategies that are required to deliver the required outcomes. As a base commitment, we strive to minimize the ecological impact of our operations through a site-based approach to biodiversity risks and the controls at all of our sites. Firstly, that means complying with all laws and regulations. Secondly, where we have identified gaps in the local regulatory landscape, that means putting into place actions to align our operations with international best practice, or in some case, implementing programs that we believe have established a new global benchmark. Tristan spoke about our commitment to responsible mining. At First Quantum, we recognize the important intersection between biodiversity and climate change that is becoming of increased interest to our stakeholders.
This is in addition to our decarbonization targets. We're committed to continuous improvement, both in our ongoing performance, but also in how we communicate on this topic. The expected publication of the recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, also known as the TNFD, later this year, will represent an important step forward in improving communication and reporting by companies. We will continue to monitor the evolution of reporting frameworks such as the TNFD as we develop our broader ESG reporting. Environmental impact assessments have been performed for all of our projects and form an essential initial step in the project approval process. Our approach will typically involve engagement with, and participation by, either local or international experts across a range of biodiversity fields, who assist our teams with the initial baseline data gathering, followed by the identification of potential impacts.
Following this initial process, we work with these experts to prepare and develop long-term plans and strategies for reducing negative impacts, and where possible, delivering positive impacts, similar to the approach outlined by Ercan earlier. Our largest and most recently completed project, Cobre Panamá, included engagement with a number of leading international biodiversity experts in the development of the Biodiversity Action Plan and initiatives, which Blanca will elaborate on.
When evaluating biodiversity risks and developing our management plans, we make use of the biodiversity risk mitigation hierarchy. Our programs are developed in alignment to the four core pillars: avoidance, minimization, rehabilitation and restoration, and lastly, compensatory offsets. Our first step when evaluating biodiversity risks associated with the project is to identify any species or habitat that is of local, regional, or international importance or concern. When identified, and where relevant, we will work with recognized global leaders to design and implement controls and plans to ideally avoid or to mitigate any potential impacts.
With a major project, such as the development of a new mine, complete avoidance or mitigation may not be possible. Where this is the case, we will implement compensatory measures. This will again be with the support and guidance from biodiversity experts and in accordance with the biodiversity risk mitigation hierarchy. These compensatory measures will often extend well beyond our mining concession areas, as is the case in Zambia and Panamá, where the areas we support far exceed the footprint of our mining activities. At all of our sites, our environmental teams are responsible for the ongoing identification of biodiversity risks and the delivery of management plans in response to these.
Working in collaboration with governments, local communities, as well as organizations with specific expertise in biodiversity-related areas, we continually seek to ensure that we eliminate or minimize biodiversity-related risks associated with our operations. We have implemented Environmental Management Systems, also known as EMSs, at all of our operating and closed sites across the group. Our EMSs are aligned to the ISO 14001 standard, and we audit ourself against this, making use of internal and external resources. While our external audits are centered on compliance and performance, our internal audit program also provides us with context-specific focus at each operation. These reviews, which are conducted by colleagues with relevant expertise from across the group, give us tangible insight into how we can design and implement action plans to drive better performance and outcomes.
Our biodiversity risks, controls, and action plans are reviewed at least twice a year by site, group, and executive management, as well as the Board Audit Committee as part of the company-wide risk review process. Our commitment to biodiversity doesn't end at the mine gate. Biodiversity plays an important part in how we develop and deliver community investment initiatives. These can be as part of compensatory programs, also represent an opportunity as we look to ensure broader stakeholder participation in the benefits that mining projects bring to communities. Blanca will highlight how this has been done in Panamá, I'd like to take the opportunity to talk about Zambia, and in particular, the Northwest Province, where we have operated for more than 20 years and where I was based for four years.
In Zambia, slash-and-burn farming practices and charcoal production represent a major threat to biodiversity as the primary drivers of the increasing rate of deforestation. This averages around 200,000 hectares each year, an area approximately 10 times our total mining footprint. Identifying this as a long-term risk to biodiversity and ultimately community health and livelihoods, we've established a number of programs to increase awareness of the damage caused by charcoal burning while developing and trialing alternative fuel sources. We're also educating farmers on more sustainable farming techniques. As Ercan highlighted, our flagship conservation farming program significantly improves crop yields and also the quality of the soil. This improves the resilience of the local ecosystem, as well as community livelihoods and nutrition to challenges such as climate change. We understand that deforestation and loss of natural habitat represents a broader risk to biodiversity well beyond our mining operation.
That's why we also actively support in large-scale habitat preservation projects over wilderness areas significantly larger than our direct mining footprint. In Panamá, we make a material contribution to support the management of 25% of all nationally protected land, which represents more than 30 times our direct mining footprint. In Zambia, our contribution to the protection of wilderness areas is even greater than that and represents more than 100 times the footprint of our Trident and Kansanshi mines combined. The North-Western Province of Zambia is home to the West Lunga National Park, an area of almost 12,000 square kilometers and home to numerous endangered and vulnerable species, including a small but growing population of African elephant. Over the years, we've worked closely with the Zambian government and NGOs such as UNEP and the WWF to establish conservation initiatives to preserve this important biodiverse area.
First Quantum provides significant ongoing logistical, technical, financial, and managerial support to the project. Similarly, at Las Cruces, which Maria will touch upon further in the context of asset closure and rehabilitation, the team have done a great job delivering their Biodiversity Action Plan at an operation which ceased open-pit mining in 2021. Something close to my heart, the mine sits within an area supporting a population of great bustard, a species whose global population continues to decline and is recognized by the IUCN as being globally threatened. In addition to the progressive rehabilitation work during the life of mine, the Las Cruces team have delivered a wide-ranging strategy to address the biodiversity risks identified during project planning, including the great bustard.
These included working with local farmers to adjust farming techniques during breeding and migration periods, reaching agreements with local hunting groups around bird protection measures, and extensive field monitoring programs. Over the life of the mine, we have seen a progressive increase in the numbers of great bustard living and breeding around our mine. For many of us at First Quantum, our approach to biodiversity management is not simply a job, a legal commitment, or a checklist. I believe we're driven by doing what feels right and creating something we can be proud of. In an effort to share our passion with the wider group, last October, we entered a team into what is known as Global Big Day. It's a day where birders around the world try to record as many species as they can over a 24-hour period.
We had over 140 participants in Finland, Spain, Zambia, Mauritania, Panamá, and Canada, and managed to record close to 450 species on our sites or in the protected areas that we support. I'll now hand over to Blanca, who will speak about the work being undertaken by her and the team in the biodiversity hotspot that is Panamá.
Thanks, Andrew. I'll be speaking about how our First Quantum strategy and approach translate into how we manage biodiversity risk here at Cobre Panamá. We are located in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, a sensitive area for biodiversity. This means that we spend a great deal of time considering the potential risk from our operation and how we can best manage this. Cobre Panamá is one of the world's largest copper mine, and this is located in the tropical rainforest of the Panamánian Caribbean, where high biodiversity is represented by close to 500 species of birds, amphibian, reptile, mammals, and freshwater fish, and about 1,000 identified species of flora. This study at the project planning and approval stage, which include actual Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, ESIA.
This 40,000-page report formed the basis of our comprehensive Biodiversity Action Plan, with more than 370 commitment to our biodiversity. Our ESIA and Biodiversity Action Plan, BAP, provide a comprehensive assessment and a framework for implementing a rational program that so we can positively contribute to biodiversity. To our proactive approach and action, we are committed to species protection, preserving and enhancing their natural habitat and ecosystem, and supporting sustainable practices in the area where we operate. That BAP was developed in collaboration with a large own international recognized organization over a number of years throughout the planning and construction phase at the mine. This include organizations such as Kew Botanical Gardens and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and Missouri Botanical Garden.
As we transitioned from the construction phase to in commercial operation, we have continued to work closely with a number of international and national organizations in the executing and delivering of our programs. Our BAB is designed to mitigate biodiversity risk, following the hierarchy outlined by Andrew earlier. I lead a team of more than 30, and together we manage the interaction between biodiversity in and around Cobre Panamá. Our wider environmental team of more than 200 people is committed to avoiding mitigation and offsetting any negative impact on water, air, soil, and ecosystem downstream. Our BAB exceeds national regulation and focus on three key areas. First, our Protected Areas Plan. As Andrew highlighted, the area supported by Cobre Panamá cover an area more than 30 times the footprint at the mine.
This is an area of more than 200,000 hectares of protected land in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. In 2022, we signed a long-term agreement with the Panamánian Ministry of Environment for financial and managed support of this area. Our objective is to slow and reverse the deforestation that has occurred in this area. Deforestation represents a major risk to biodiversity through Panamá. According to Global Forest Watch, the country has lost almost 500,000 hectares of tree cover in the last 20 years, with various factors, including urban and agricultural expansion, contributing to this decline. This mine footprint at Cobre Panamá accounts for less than 1% of this total loss, but we recognize that we have an obligation to address this.
We are committed to contributing to restoration and rehabilitation of ecological systems throughout the country, not limited to the direct impact of our operation. We have implemented programs aimed at conserving native species, habitat, and landscape. This initiative with the Ministry of Environment, Cobre Panamá, will support the protection of a quarter of land designated as protected areas in the country for demonstrating our commitment to environmental stewardship. Secondly, to our Reforestation Plan, we have committed to reforest an area almost twice to the size of the mine footprint. This involves reforestation of deforested farming land outside the project, as well as rehabilitation and reforestation within our mining footprint. Although the commitment is a large of mine commitment, we have made excellent progress and have reforest more than 4,200 hectares today. Our commitment to reforestation and supporting protected areas also extend to our community investment program.
Ercan mentioned the core areas of our social engagement and investment. In Panamá, our livelihood program actively promotes and encourages sustainable farming practice and ecological restoration. The agroforestry program that we have developed work with local farmers to educate them to an alternative to crops and practices such as coffee or cocoa. This not only increase farming incomes through better yields, but also encourage maintenance of the forest canopy on the residual crop tray. Under one of these programs, the farmers producing La Ceiba coffee, now exported and produced internationally. Another initiative, the Association of the Small Farmers of Donoso and La Pintada, DONLAP, and a local community farming cooperative, has produced more than 850,000 tons of produce from dozens of local family-grown farms. Each year, Minera Panamá buys millions of dollars of produce from DONLAP to feed our workforce.
The third pillar of our work is our Species-L evel Conservation Plan. Cobre Panamá sadly means that consideration of the specific and number of the species at risk is key to our biodiversity action and commitments. This means that we collaborate with organizations focused on conservation activities for specific species. We work with The Peregrine Fund to protect one of the region's apex predator, the harpy eagle, and also with the Tapir Conservation Program to safeguard a broad range of the species and forests along the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. To our Peregrine collaboration, we have protected dozens of harpy eagle nests in the vast Darién forest. Our support to financial contribution, as well as education and conservation programs in the local communities. Our conservation program has also had a significant impact on critically endangered species, such as the hawksbill turtle.
We have partnered with Sea Turtle Conservancy to support our conservation of sea turtles, including the hawksbill turtle. The number of nests for this species are declining exponentially on the beaches where we work together, from less than 50 nests to over 3,000. This area has become the main hotspot for turtle nesting, showcasing the real impact of our conservation effort. For the mitigation of the species-related risks on site, we have full-time vets and clinics for the rescue and recovery of animals and in around our project area. Under this plan, we are also focused in advancing these species through conservation projects. We collaborate with a number of international and national conservation organizations, which include the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, with whom we have long-term project of ex situ breeding of five endangered species from, and research for the chytrid fungus that affect wide broad population.
We also work with the Universidad Latina de Panamá in a strategic partner for our micropropagation and in vitro conservation laboratory, which use biotechnology to conserve not only Cobre Panamá species of concern, but also Panamánian wild flora. This partnership has been instrumental in the development of our plans, that we continue to cultivate relations with experts in this field to ensure we are employing the most effective conservation strategy through collaboration. As part of our commitment to preserving biodiversity, we have added the Universidad Latina de Panamá as a new partner. This involved in our conservation effort in further support our mission to protect and preserve natural resources in Panamá. We have established new partnerships with several scientific organizations.
This collaboration aim to study the hydrodynamic of river and stream, conduct bioscience research, investigate environmental DNA research, and enhance understanding of fish population and behavior in our area of interest. Ultimately, through the range of action that we are taking, we are seek to exceed national regulation for biodiversity management, meet appropriate international best practice in biodiversity management in order to achieve our biodiversity commitment and support conservation. I will now hand over to Maria to talk about how we manage mine closure and rehabilitation. Thanks.
Thanks, Blanca. Thanks, Andrew. Asset closure is an important part of our mine planning process. Each mine site is unique with respect to its environment, its social context, and its geography. As we start to think about opening a mine, is also when we start to think about how we close one. That means considering risks that could arise from closure in a range of areas, including to the environment, as well as the impact to our workforce and our communities. Identifying these risks and establishing plans to mitigate and compensate for them well before the start of closure activities have a twofold benefit. Firstly, it allows our teams to identify and review the data that will be key to closure plans well in advance. Secondly, longer-term planning allows for a number of closure activities to be started during the operating life of the mine.
This includes progressively rehabilitating waste rock dams, ponds, or tailings storage facilities alongside mining activities. Harvesting topsoil prior to commencement of mining results in more effective vegetation and rehabilitation of these areas. At our Trident and Cobre Las Cruces mines, hundreds of thousands of tons of topsoil have been used to rehabilitate within the mine areas. At Cobre Panamá, this has also started, even though the mine has been in full production for less than three years. In fact, more than a third of our life of mine restoration commitment has been undertaken. The safety and the environmental stability of our closed sites is our absolute priority. Our closure plans therefore consider factors such as water management, soil restoration, equipment dismantling, as well as the rehabilitation of the mining footprint.
An important aspect of our closure planning centers on the engagement with two of our key stakeholders, our workforce, and our communities. As mine approaches closure, we support our employees as they look at transitioning into new jobs, by offering opportunities to develop new skills at the workplace or by furthering their academic studies. At Pyhäsalmi, some of my colleagues have retrained to become, for example, engineers or bus drivers, or to start their own businesses. If possible, we will also look at how they can further their career at First Quantum, at another of our operations. Community engagement will commence well in advance of the expected time, timing of closure. Where possible, we will prioritize opportunities that provide the community with future livelihood benefits from the continued use of our lands.
Social risks around closure can be more pronounced in developing countries, where the local community is more dependent on the mine. This underlines the importance of our sustainable approach to community projects that Ercan spoke about. At our Guelb Moghrein mine in Mauritania, which is expected to continue operations until early 2028, community transition work started in 2018. In preparing and executing our closure plans, we use both internal expertise as well as globally recognized leaders to ensure compliance with relevant regulations and legislation. Our plans are reviewed and updated regularly to ensure that they reflect the most up-to-date closure planning estimates and incorporate latest mine development and rehabilitation activity. In addition to review by site and senior management, board-level oversight is provided by the Environmental, Health and Safety, and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, who review plans annually.
The financial estimates associated with our closure plans are updated each year and subject to audit. Where local regulations require, we contribute to government for rehabilitation plans or have bank guarantees in place. We manage the liabilities associated with asset closure for at least as long as we own the site. We continue to actively manage the sites to ensure ongoing environmental stability, as we consider divestment opportunities for other mining companies to take projects forward or whether to return stable properties to the state. Our coast properties are all located in Canada, and there we have adapted to Mining Association of Canada's TSM standards. In 2022, the Pyhäsalmi copper mine in Finland stopped underground mining operations after 60 years. Production will continue on a small scale for a few more years by producing pyrite from the reprocessing of tailings material.
Located just 5 km from the nearest town, Pyhäjärvi, and responsible for around a third of the town's tax income, planning for closure commenced some time ago. At Pyhäsalmi, we meet regularly with the communities while seeking to demonstrate our commitment and planning to carry out the closure in a responsible manner. With the economic contributions from the mine, our municipality has grown from an agricultural and forestry-dominated village to international prominence. For example, Pyhäsalmi hosts several world records, like the deepest rock concert and the deepest sauna. The closure of our mining operation creates new possibilities for local communities. In 2015, our local town, Pyhäjärvi, with our support and cooperation, established the Callio Project to promote further industrial uses of the mine site.
The most promising plan for the future, further utilization of the mine is to use it as a pumped hydroelectric storage station. This project has received funding from the Finnish government to progress the initiative. Post-closure use of the mine will require continued monitoring and treatment of groundwater. To achieve this, working with Callio, we supported a waste-free water purification pilot in 2022, to increase recycling of water and to generate economic benefits for the local community from the byproducts. When underground mining ended at Pyhäsalmi mine in August, the execution of the closure plan started. The already established closure team was reorganized to ensure that operational experience gained by our workforce continued into the closure phase. Our former site service manager is now responsible for the project, and around half of our mining workforce is now engaged in the underground demolition and clearing work.
As with First Quantum's other operations, Pyhäsalmi has long conducted progressive restoration during the operational life. One of our tailings ponds was reclaimed more than 20 years ago. This area is now the proposed site for a 30 MW solar work farm, which is expected to provide power for closure and pyrite production from next year. The remaining tailings ponds will also be reclaimed in such a way that facilitates efficient management of the geochemical stability of the facility and prevents acid rock drainage. During and after closure, environmental monitoring will continue for as long as is required to ensure the land is safe for people and nature. We are prepared for 30 years. Key parameters will be monitored, including the impacts to surface and groundwater, and the maintenance of closure infrastructure. Pyhäsalmi continues to contribute to the local communities to help the area to remain vibrant.
The matter is important to me personally, because I have lived most of my life in Pyhäjärvi, and all my childhood in the nearest village, which is only 500 meters from the mine site. More than 50 years ago, my parents met in Pyhäsalmi at the early stages of the mine. Now the circle is closing while I'm working with the closure. Thanks for your time, and I'll now hand over to Carlos, who will speak about how we manage tailings.
Thanks, Maria. The safe operation and management of our Tailings Storage Facilities, or TSF, are a priority area of our management team across the group, with oversight from the First Quantum Board. Across the world, we operate 10 active TSF, and we maintain nine other are a plus properties. The design of our TSF depends on their geographical location and follows widely used industry guidelines such as ANCOLD, ICOLD, CDA, and EU directives. Our TSF has been designed in a manner that consider the condition in which the facilities to be located, as well as the physical and engineering properties of the material to be deposited. Reflecting these factors, we construct using an upstream, downstream, centerline, or a combination to suit the site conditions and the availability of material for construction.
TSF performance and stability are monitoring using a range of indicators and instrumentation, providing regular data to our teams on-site. We're exploring opportunities for more efficient capture and analysis of monitoring data using the emerging technology solutions and information sharing platforms. Assisting our teams at a group level is our group tailings engineer, who visits each facilities, oversees regular internal audits, encourages the learning and developing of our personnel, and enables the sharing of information between the operational teams. Each of our TSF is also subject to external review and inspection at least annually, yet some as often as quarterly. The results are being reviewed by senior management and the Environmental, Health, Safety, and CSR Committee, who are responsible for overseeing the management of the TSF risk.
During 2022, this committee received details presentation on-site management approach to a TSF risk and the plan to commence GSTM alignment. Furthermore, board meeting were held at several of our operations that facilitated first-hand inspection of the Cobre Panamá, Trident, and Kansanshi TSF. In response to our interest from our stakeholders, including the Church of England Pension Fund, we have increased our disclosure with respects to our TSF. As a company, we support effort to improve the industry's performance on tailings management as we target zero harm to people and the environment. Following to our review of the ICMM Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management in late 2021, we committed to a phase alignment of our practices to the performance aspect of this standard.
This is an important tool in our aim for continuous improvement in our tailings governance, while ensuring that our site TSF retains accountability and responsibility for the ongoing and safe operation of these facilities. As part of our alignment with the GSTM, we have established a framework of key areas. The first priority area centers on ensuring that the governance structure and the roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and operated effectively. Secondly, we are further strengthening the dam safety management system that we have in place, building on our well-established Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. Our third focus area is in the increased emphasis on learning and development of our TSF personnel. This includes targeted learning opportunities for key people, the ongoing development of the team, and greater collaboration and sharing of information between TSF operations.
Fundamental to our GSTM alignment work are two core First Quantum commitments: the safety of our TSF, as well as how we can better manage water. First Quantum largest operation in Zambia and in Panamá are in areas with negative and highly positive water balances. TSF are an integral part of our water and processes management. How we manage water is key to responsible and efficient operations, which include optimizing energy usage and plant performance. As each site complete the first phase of the GSTM alignment, the focus will shift into embedding the organizational and process changes that have been implemented and further improve operational efficiencies available across all our operations.
I joined First Quantum Minerals five years ago, interested in a major change in my career. I was working in the consultancy company sector for large copper mine as client, that we have even operated for decades in a very dry environment in Chile. The focus of an integrated water and tailings management was on water efficiency, maximizing water recycling, and environmental compliance of the groundwater component.
Cobre Panamá was a total different challenge, working directly from the operational team, trying to deal with massive rainfall, with all the complexities of the initial ramp-up phase, but also with the chance of implementing new approaches and technology from the very beginning, that understanding that the benefit in the long-term horizon. I knew that First Quantum rely on their people, providing the resource needed in supporting the decision-making process from within. As in the case of all active TSF managed by First Quantum, I currently lead the dedicated team at Cobre Panamá operation.
Our team consists of almost 500 people working exclusively for the TSF operation, divided into four main groups: embankment construction, cyclone plant operation and piping, geotechnical engineering and quality control, and tailings deposition and water management. Our TSF commenced operation in February 2019, as the mine ramp up in commercial production in September of the same year. We follow Canadian Dam Association guidelines using the centerline construction method. While designing the facility, we identified three key risk areas: Seismicity, Climate, and Operational Controls. Our design was subject to external review by international engineering expert with experience in management of large TSF in conditions similar to Cobre Panamá, and using IPCC climate projection and historic seismology data. In Panamá, we operate in an area with extremely high levels of rainfall in a rock tropical environment.
On average, our site receive around four and a half meters of rain a year, with a catchment area of over 20 square kilometers, meaning that the magnitude of precipitation and runoff are more than triple than our water losses. Our permits and the design of our TSF allows for continuous discharge of the surplus water via government-inspected and monitoring compliance point. We use a spillway tower integrated with a tunnel that were sized to safely route the most extreme flow event, known in the industry as the Probable Maximum Flood. In our case, that event is the result of almost 900 millimeters of rainfall falling within a 24-hour window, which is more than double that the magnitude of the 1,000 year return event. The vast majority of our water demand at Cobre Panamá come from water reuse.
We achieve around 80% of water recirculation in the last two years. As part of the CP100 expansion, additional lines were constructed from the TSF in order to provide the extra water required in the process plant. Cobre Panamá TSF operation begins at our site cyclone plant, where we classify the tailings into a coarse and a fine fraction. The coarse fraction, also called sand, is an effective material that we use to construct the embankments. The sand is pumped into the active construction locations along the 2 main dams, with a combined length of almost 8 km. At the destination, heavy equipment is used to shape and compact the sand into one to two -meter thick layers. Our quality assurance and quality control teams then carries out a specific test that confirms that the sand was placed according to the design specification.
After their approval, we prepare the location for another coarse sand layer on top, and we repeat the cycle. The fine fraction of the tailings are discharged inside the impoundment using a spigot. The solids settle in the proximity of the spigot, forming the tailings beach, while the excess water flows towards the pond. The pond location, shape, and the volume are actively managed to ensure the proper conditions for tailings settlement before reaching the spillway tower. On average, we have to raise the embankment about six meter per years. This entails placing more than eight million cubic meter of sand annually to construct the perimeter embankments. That is more than three times the volume of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
These embankments have already reached more than 60 meters in height in some locations, yet we still have to raise them another 50 meters over the next decade to accommodate the mine's production. This is the ultimate capacity that we have designing for storing in a safe and responsible manner, the tailings rate for the CP100 expansion, which has been commissioned and we will be ramping up over the remainder of the year. In summary, tailings management is one of the most important areas of focus, as such, has been given due attention at all levels of the organization. Our team dedicated to Cobre Panamá TSF is a reflection of that in terms of design, construction, monitoring, and operational controls. I will now hand back over to Simon as we open the lines for any questions.
Thanks, Carlos. We'll now move on to the question and answer period. Just a reminder, you can submit questions via the webcast or dial into the conference call line to ask them over the phone. I'll now turn over the call to the Operator.
Thank you. Participants are permitted to ask one question and one follow-up, and are welcome to rejoin the queue if there are more. To join the question queue, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. You'll hear a tone acknowledging your request. If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing any keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Our first question is from Ralph Profiti with Eight Capital. Please go ahead.
Good morning and good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for taking my questions and the presentation. I wanted to bring up the issue of the Sentinel fatality in early 2023. What were the conclusions of the investigation as it pertains to root causes? Has there been changes to, you know, processes, protocols, and standard operating procedures as a result of that?
Thanks for the question, Ralph. It's a really important area of our business. Before I hand over to Teza, just, you know, really echo the comments that Tristan made at the open of this call here today about how important safety is and continued focus really on how we improve that. I'll let Teza talk a bit further about this particular incident and the lessons that we've learned.
Yeah. Thank you very much for that very important question, and thanks, Simon, for passing that question on to me. Firstly, I'd like to mention that there was an in-depth review of the incident by a very experienced ICAM investigator, and all the lessons that came out of that incident have been shared across the group. From the recommendations that came out of that incident at Trident, we have been reviewing all the haulage routes, particularly at the intersections and also at the loading floors, so that we, as much as possible, reduce the chances of light vehicles impacting with the heavy equipment. On top of that, we have also had to review the visibility of the light vehicles in the pit areas.
We have branded them with high vis paints, as well as lightings on top, the bars. We have also made sure that the buggy widths are standard long enough so that there's more visibility. Most importantly, we have reviewed the number of light vehicles that are entering into the pit, so that we can, as much as possible, reduce the possibility of light vehicles getting into contact with heavy equipment. Above all, communication has been very, very important, both to the employees and to contractors, about the fatality incident that happened, as well as the key lessons that we've gotten from it and how to remain safe at work. Thank you.
Simon, I'll just jump in as well. Ralph, it's Tristan speaking as well. Look, to add to Teza's answer there, the other area we looked in closely was the technology that we deploy around segregation of vehicles. across the board. For example, fatigue monitoring, the cameras, the tracking systems that we have on the fleet in the pit, the monitoring of that in dispatch, and the beacons around the pit. All of that was part of the evaluation that Teza put forward, and that does continue to be an area we were actively working on. Reevaluation of our collision avoidance technology is part of that. The most, really the number one issue is the interaction of light vehicles and heavy vehicles.
Avoiding that is really the main focus of the lessons that are being learned and deployed, not only at Sentinel, where this tragic incident occurred, but elsewhere, Cobre Panamá, Kansanshi, but across the board at each of our major operations.
Thanks, Tristan. Thanks, Teza. Great.
Yeah, thanks for those answers on an important topic. I wanted to bring up a follow-up question on what Carlos referred to as the probable maximum flood and whether or not that also pertains to, you know, the Petaquilla Gold tailings facility, the Molejón tailings facility, and whether or not that continues to clear audits, both from First Quantum's perspective and also government and regulators.
Thanks for the question, Ralph. It's a good question. I will hand over to Carlos. See, we do have a very significant environmental team in place in Panamá, and water management is an important part of our environmental compliance, but I'll let Carlos speak a little bit further about that question in particular.
Thank you, Simon. Thank you, Ralph. I think it's an interesting question. Yeah, at the beginning, since we started operation, we are, like, increase our knowledge on learning about how we are going to manage extreme climate event around the facilities that we operate, especially the TSF that we have here in Cobre Panamá. It's true that we also have to extend that, those learning and that knowledge into the surrounding areas, including the Petaquilla Gold facility. However, obviously, it's something information that we share with the local authorities, and there is also some involvement from their behalf in order to see how we can use this information for them to improve how they are going to manage that particular facility.
Thanks, Carlos.
Carlos, I'd just add, the Petaquilla facility is in a different river system, Ralph. It's in the Petaquilla river system, which is across the watershed from our own water area. We potentially have some interaction in the Petaquilla only once we move into the extreme lower end of the Colina pit, but that would only be in several years' time. So we're not in that river system at the moment. And really, the challenge is that Petaquilla is really a closed operation now managed by the environmental regulator, by the government. So, as Carlos says, our interaction is with them on providing our information on rainfall and so on, and the management of that facility by the government regulator.
Thanks, Tristan. Operator, over to you for the next question, please.
Thank you. The next question is from Jackie Przybylowski with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Thanks very much for taking my call. I know you mentioned earlier in the call that your partnership with Hitachi, and the battery trucks that you're receiving from Hitachi. Can you talk about any other partners that you're working with to implement new technologies? Thanks.
Thanks very much for the question, Jackie. I'll hand over to Gordon. He's much more familiar with these areas, and he can talk about some of these exciting developments that are taking place at our operations. Over to you, Gordon.
Thanks, Simon, and thanks, Jackie. I think it's important just to reflect, you know, around innovation, and that innovation really comes, you know, from people. Getting a collective or diverse and collaborative input is vital to that process. OEMs are very important to that process. You touched on it, and we're very excited with the development of the battery truck at Kansanshi. I think that's, you know, that's the most mature operation we have in terms of trolley-assist, and we see a real future between the battery technology and trolley-assist. That's the, you know, that's the one technology innovation that you mentioned, Jackie.
I think another area which is exciting, that I'd like to touch on is the crusher guidance system. The trolley crusher guidance system, which is effectively moving into a sphere of semi-autonomous application and will give us, unlock a large portion of the benefits of autonomous haulage. That's an interesting bit of technology that we're looking at deploying at both Sentinel and Cobre Panamá, in collaboration with Liebherr. Yeah, I think, you know, these advances, we're really excited about the potential of these advances and where it can take the business.
I mean, you know, they've got all safety implications as well as efficiency gains and I think also, you know, a wider adoption across not only in our own business but across the industry. Thank you. Simon?
Thanks so much, Gordon.
Sorry, if I could ask a follow-up, and if you could indulge me in a maybe a bit of a more silly question, but, are you guys thinking about artificial intelligence at all or how that might play into the new technologies that you're adopting?
Yeah. Thanks for the question, Jackie. It's certainly a hot topic. I think six months ago, we hadn't heard too many, or not too many of us had heard about ChatGPT, but I think there is some potential there in how we use data. Gordon is the perfect person really, to talk a bit more about that.
Thanks, Simon. Thanks, Jackie. I think, yeah, that's a very pertinent question. I think, you know, as Simon touched on it's fast evolving. I think, you know, the first thing we should recognize is that a mine generates, you know, at any time interval, a significant amount of data. Really, AI and machine learning gives us the opportunity to leverage that data and drive, you know, safety, efficiency gains, with insight. It's an area we're excited about. We have advanced as we can be, and this is where we're putting a lot of effort into, but we have various system.
I touched on the blasting, which is a really interesting piece of machine learning that we optimize by hole- by- hole, rather than a standard part effector to a block, and that's based on a machine learning model, AI, that we have key inputs in. That would be one interesting point or area, Jackie. Another one is in our mobile maintenance space with predictive analytics. We use oil analysis would be one data input. You know, the onboard machine sensors is another one, and we'd use that into an AI program with that would then predict intervention, strategy, and plans. I think, you know, there's lots of scope in these type of areas.
I think, you know, AI gives us. It has the potential for exponential growth, which we need to, you know, keep abreast with. Thank you. Simon?
Thanks very much, Gordon. Thanks, Jackie, for the question. Operator, back over to you for any further questions from the line.
Yes. The next question is from Bryce Adams with CIBC. Please go ahead.
Hi, all. Thank you for the presentation. Lots of great content. My questions are around emissions targets. Will you be able to source the additional green electricity needed to replace diesel? Has this been factored into your emission targets? Lastly, can you comment if offsets are needed to achieve your targets? Thank you.
Thanks very much for the question, Bryce. I'll maybe start with the middle one. Our emissions reduction targets, 30% reduction by 25% and 50% by 2030, those are based on a 2020 base year, and they really target the electrical power that we use at our operation. They do not incorporate, at the present time, for example, expansion of trolley- assist or use of battery trucks. It really is centered on how we decarbonize the power we use in Zambia, but very importantly in Panamá as well. As we get further down our pathway to decarbonization, we will need to look at or potentially need to look at offsets.
At the present time, we're really focused on what we can do to reduce emissions directly from our operations. In terms of the availability of power for replacement of diesel, we are looking at how we can increase power generation in a couple of the geographies in which we're based. In Zambia, last year, we announced an early-stage project with Tetela and Chariot, and that's for 430 MW of power, and that would increase renewable power on the grid, but also increase powerful stop on the grid.
In Panamá, we are conducting that power study, really looking at where there are opportunities to develop greener and lower carbon power as well. Looking at where we can increase the availability of power in those countries.
Okay. Much appreciated. Thanks again.
Thanks, Bryce. Operator, do we have any further questions on the line?
Yes. The next question is from Dalton Baretto with Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead.
Thank you, congrats, everybody, on a great presentation. Really well done. I wanted to ask about your social programs in Panamá, and really two parts to this question. Number one, how, if at all, were your local relationships within the communities impacted by your negotiations and the dispute with the government last year? Part B of that question is, now that you've got a new agreement in place, how will those programs change? Thank you.
Thanks, Dalton. I'll, I will hand over to Ercan to take that question. He's traveled around most of our operations and projects in the last few months, so he's seen firsthand. He'll be able to provide a bit more context. Ercan, if I can hand over to you.
Sure. Thank you. In my earlier presentation, I didn't have a chance to talk about Panamá enough. I think it was a good opportunity for me. Thank you, Dalton, for the question. During the negotiations, actually, we have received significant support, genuine support from our communities, from our neighbors around operation. They actually motivate us for deal during the negotiations. When we in turn discussed what was the main reason behind this, I would say that the main reason behind that was our ongoing and regular relationships with the communities. Besides that, obviously, we have many community development projects.
If I mention some of them, one of the key projects we are supporting our communities about our training center to develop new professionals in various areas such as mechanics, electrical areas, and also specialized welding trainings. We are giving these trainings to the people between ages 18 - 35 years, and 30% of these students are actually female. There's a quite strong demand for this desire for these courses, because whoever receive these trainings, they are going to be certified officially by the Education Institute of the Panamánian Government. They will not only work for Cobre Panamá, but also they can work in other operations, in other industries with these skills.
It is taking long. They are having their practical trainings in our operations at Cobre Panamá. In addition to this training center, we have many community initiatives. We supported seven new cooperatives and associations. One of them is quite significant, DONLAP Cooperative. They are producing local agricultural products. They sold as much as $3 million of their products to our operations, not only to Cobre Panamá, but also they sell to markets and other international companies as well. We want them to be self-sufficient. They can do the business beyond the life of mine. That's quite important to us. There are many other initiatives. Cafe La Sierra is one of them as well.
They are producing coffee, and not only producing, but also processing that. Following during the negotiation with the government and after that, we had some meeting, our social manager, Alberto, led those meetings and its consultations to understand what are we doing well, or how can we use our social funds even more efficiently? We have, I mean, to be honest, we wouldn't expect such a strong support. We decided that we need to invest more in community initiatives, community development initiatives. 10 years ago, I was in Cobre Panamá. I see that social infrastructure not yet enough, now after 10 years, I see that social infrastructure is at a certain level.
We are going to invest more in community development, labels, income-generating activities such as tourism, production, fish farm, and many other initiatives that as we receive from communities. That will be our main focus, going forward with that.
Great. Thank you very much, Teza. I'll maybe just take one question from the web forums before we close the Q&A session. A question from Andrew Edmondson from Ashmore. How much of the 50% target decarbonization by 2030 is from cutting coal usage at Cobre Panamá? And how much is from other activities and innovations? Really, in response to that, the decarbonization of power and moving away from coal power at Cobre Panamá is really what delivers that step change. Last year, it represented around 45% of our Scope 1 and 2 footprint. And as we move away from that really is gonna be key to achieving that interim target in 2025 and 2030.
The other components of that really sit around where we can use more renewable power in Zambia, which is very renewable as a grid, but we have two very large operations there, which do consume a lot of power. Increasing those renewables will also contribute. The Cobre Panamá decarbonization is really what delivers us that step change. Thanks for the question, Andrew. With that, I think we'll conclude the question and answer session. Thank you, operator. I'll now turn over the webcast to Tristan for his closing remarks.
Thanks, Simon. Thanks to everybody who joined. We really appreciate your participation today. The team that's all here, appreciate the interest, and certainly there was some very good Q&A at the end of that, of what was a very good session in terms of communication around our ESG processes. I'm proud of the work that our teams undertake across the business and appreciate the opportunity to share some of this work with you. This is only a portion of it, but there's a lot of teams on the ground who continue to work very hard across this. We'll be speaking to you again soon. I'd certainly look forward to that when we publish our Q2 results and our earnings call on July 26th. Thanks again to everybody, and enjoy the-