Sr. Ivo Ucovich - MILPO

Ivo Ucovich Chairman of the Board MILPO

Press Tribune: Would you like to address the importance of the corporate governance for a company such as MILPO?

Mr. Ucovich: Milpo was basically a family business a few years ago, then the board introduced a lot of internal changes and we took the corporate governance as a way of living. As you know, Milpo is a company who is listed in the local stock exchange, and for us its critical to have this corporate governors, an also the possibility to give information and transparency to all our shareholders.

Press Tribune: Milpo had a turn of 190.3 million dollars EBITDA, an amazing figure if we look at 2005. What would you like to comment to the Economist regarding performance of Milpo in 2006?

Mr. Ucovich: Well, in Fact, 2006 was a very important year for us because we started up our third unit: Chapi. Chapi Copper Mine is located in Moquegua. It was great years because we had very strong prices in the market and we were very capable to, in general terms, maintain our cost. That´s why the company is performing very strong and this year is looks even better.

Press Tribune: In The Michiquillay project you came second, what did you learn from this bidding for 18 million dollars? You came very close to getting that project, what kind of lesson did you learn from that and what are your plans in terms of projects?

Mr. Ucovich: Well, the company has the strategy to work into a big project as soon as we can. Michiquillay was the second trial; in fact the first one was Tintaya. Tintaya was a BHP unit and they sold almost a couple of years ago and now we tried for Michiquillay last November 2005. Michiquillay was a property of the government for many years and we were short for just 18 million dollars, so we were unlucky. But we are looking for the third trial that I believe will be the successful one.

Press Tribune: Regarding the blooming of the Peruvian economy, regarding Milpo, what would you foresee for the future of the company and the way you are doing business?

Mr. Ucovich: Well perhaps if I tell you about Cerro Lindo, the mine that we are starting at this month, you will understand the philosophy of the group. Cerro Lindo is no emissions, cero emissions. It is the high technology that you can find now in the world, totally friendly with the environment. We are not taking water from the river that is close by the mine. We are taking water from the ocean and after the desalinization process we are pumping up the water to the mine. Since the beginning, the relationship with the communities was very close. We trained and we selected people from the communities, we took them to Lima and special entities to train them in the mining activities, and a group of them are in the other Milpo´s mines in the same training program and they will probably to start up the facilities next week.
And if you see today the philosophy of all the companies oblige us to be friendly, totally friendly with the environment, use high technology and also to have our stakeholders as a part of our development.

Press Tribune: On a personal level, how would like to describe your managing style in the company?

Mr. Ucovich: You know in our sector the firewall you can control is the cost, if you have a philosophy as the one Milpo has now, respecting people, respecting our resources, then the unique control you have is cost. Now, our main mine is located in Cerro de Pasco, is the lowest cost in the world, and that is part of our success. We should be very focused in trying to have the better cost we can, because as you know prices is something that now is beautiful but could be a big change in a near future .

Press Tribune: Something that is very important to attract investment to a country are the people that work in the country, how would you like to characterize the way the Peruvian people work?

Mr. Ucovich: In the mining sector we have many advantages. The main advantage is the resources. Peru is wonderful, if you visit the highlands it is unbelievable the resources we have. The second advantage is that we have almost a thousand years worth of woods, metals, and metallurgy and mining: a lot of background experience, and hardworking people. That mix gives us, I believe, a unique advantage to produce and to be a world leader producing metals.

Press Tribune: What other sector would you like to highlight? What are the other sectors that will create the future of Peru?

Mr. Ucovich: Well, I believe in wood. In the future the wood industry will be amazing because of the jungle we have. Also the energy generation, we have water, plenty of water, also in the jungle. Agriculture as you mentioned. I think those are the main ones; tourism is a big one. Peru is full of places to visit, excellent food, good people and good places.

Press Tribune: Other aspects of Milpo that you would like to share with our readers, something that you think is important for you to convey?

Mr. Ucovich: We are a company with a very strong spirit and a very long-term view.