How Agnico Eagle’s social investment programs are making a difference.
Over the past eight years, our Pinos Altos Complex in Mexico has improved access to higher education for hundreds of people in the local Municipality of Ocampo.
Students of all ages now have the opportunity to attend two higher education institutions, one of them offering a master’s degree. To date, 180 students have completed their bachelor’s degree and 13 have completed their master’s degree.
Previously, anyone looking to go to college had to move to a different city, over 200km away, to study for a career and improve their quality of life.
Frustrations with this gap in the access to education were expressed by concerned citizens during a Community Assessment and Participatory Dialogue process undertaken by the Community Relations team at Pinos Altos.
The team worked with local teachers, parent committees, school principles and government officials to develop a social investment plan to identify the resources and infrastructure needs for the community. The Pinos Altos Complex, in coordination with local authorities, then made social investments to support the development, construction and operation of higher-level institutions, beginning in 2015.
Today, with Agnico Eagle’s support, the University Cultural Center of Basaseachi now offers Master's degree options. And in 2020, an extension was added to the Technological Institute of Cuauhtemoc, which offers online educational courses – helping to meet the needs of students during the pandemic.
The Pinos Altos team also equipped the community library with new computers and internet access to the Institute’s online educational system, helping students and adults pursue college degrees in business administration, psychology, social work, industrial and systems engineering, among other career options.
“As a result of these new schools, and access to online education programs, young people from the mountain communities now have access to higher education”, explains Paola Cazares, Sustainability Director. “They can develop their skills and careers right in their own region, improve the quality of life for their families, and help create a sustainable community.”
| Pinos Altos has made a social impact by: - Funding construction of 25 classrooms and improving educational infrastructure at 41 schools
- Providing 1,254 educational scholarships
- Investing in the construction of 2 higher educational institutions, 1 of them offering a master’s program
- Helping more than 180 students complete their bachelor’s degree and 13 master’s students graduate from institutions of higher learning
- Ensuring ~ 2,760 children and young people can continue to study thanks to these new teaching venues
- Enabling 300 students to enroll in the adult literacy program, with 77 graduating from elementary and middle school
- Donating material to construct an elementary school consisting of 6 classrooms, an administration office, and bathrooms
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For their efforts in improving access to higher education in the Municipality of Ocampo, Pinos Altos Complex was awarded runner-up for the 2023 TSM Community Engagement Excellence Award by the Mining Association of Canada.
Watch the video below to learn more about how Pinos Altos Complex has made a positive social impact in Ocampo, Mexico: