In reference to our statement dated January 17th, we would like to provide the following updates:
1. We have received the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, which has been conducting an inspection of our plant since January 17th. Likewise, we have welcomed visits from the Secretariats of Labor, Environment, and Health of Nuevo León, as well as the Municipality of San Nicolás.
We have fully cooperated with all of them and reiterated our willingness to address any observations identified as part of this process.
Some of these inspections have resulted in actions that are currently being addressed. As agreed, following these visits, materials from operational yards will be removed and covered to minimize the environmental footprint of our activities. Meanwhile, the plant continues to comply with the criteria set by the authorities who have conducted these inspections.
2. We received members of schools and neighbors from various neighborhoods adjacent to San Nicolás plant. We listened to their concerns, responded to their questions, and confirmed that our operations have all the necessary conditions in place to prevent risks to the environment, as well as to safeguard the health of our employees and surrounding communities.
3. In response to concerns raised by a recently publicized study, we have requested experts in the field to review its scientific validity. While we await their feedback, we can state in advance that it is a preliminary study that does not follow the methodology indicated by current regulations, due, among other things, to the low number of samples collected in relation to the area it claims to analyze.
The oversight of state and federal authorities, as well as various independent audits conducted by clients, suppliers, and international certifiers, demonstrate Zinc Nacional’s compliance with applicable regulations and the implementation of international standards in our operations.
Zinc Nacional remains committed to transparency and responsibility towards the communities surrounding our operations and will continue to provide relevant updates on the matter.