To mark the 220th anniversary of the birth of Ignacy Domeyko, a prominent Polish geologist who revolutionised mining, a documentary film has been made about his extraordinary life and impact on the mining industry. The scientist lived and worked in Chile, among other places, and is the patron of the KGHM’s Sierra Gorda mine.
The film “Born under a lucky mineral,” featuring, among others, descendants of Ignacy Domeyko, was co-produced by Polish Television. Its premiere will take place on television on November 16. Special guests at the pre-premiere screening at the Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw were Ignacy Domeyko’s great-grandson Jose Fernando Domeyko Perez and his wife Maria, his daughter Jacqueline Maria Dominga Domeyko Cassel and the geologist’s great-great-granddaughter Bernadita Sofia Domeyko Dobry with her son Francisco Pero Domeyko.
W 220.rocznicę urodzin Ignacego Domeyki – geologa, który zrewolucjonizował górnictwo powstał film o jego niezwykłym życiu i wpływie na branżę wydobywczą.
Naukowiec żył i pracował m. in. w Chile, jest patronem należącej do #KGHM kopalni Sierra Gorda.
➡️ https://t.co/oHgGgetLw9 pic.twitter.com/zoM30j8wnw
— KGHM Polska Miedź (@kghm_sa) October 12, 2022
Ignatius Domeyko was an outstanding scientist and founder of modern mining in Chile. He was a researcher, geologist, and long-time rector of the University of Chile. His heritage includes dozens of scientific papers. Many places are named after him, including a mineral, an asteroid and a mountain range in Chile. The Sierra Gorda Cordillera located in the Atacama desert was so named by Domeyco himself, who explored this area.
The copper deposit discovered in 2006 in Sierra Gorda is also named after Ignatius Domeyko. The mine, owned by KGHM, is one of the main copper producers in Chile, working on a sulfide deposit with mineralization of copper, molybdenum and gold found in fine veins.
In addition to attending a screening of a film about their famous ancestor, the family of Ignacy Domeyko visited, among other places, the Copper Belt. Descendants of the famous geologist went underground at the Lubin Mining Facility, where they saw what the mining process looks like. The foreign visitors were impressed by the mining machinery used to mine copper. Earlier, at the Royal Castle, they got acquainted with the original memorabilia of Ignacy Domeyko.
It is worth mentioning that the Sierra Gorda mine, whose patron is Ignacy Domeyko, is one of the main foreign assets in KGHM’s portfolio. According to data from Chile’s Copper Commission, Cochilco Sierra Gorda SCM achieved the second-best result in mining production growth in Chile last year. In 2021, there was an increase in both payable copper production (+28 per cent) and operating profit of PLN 3.2 billion (an almost 2.4-fold increase on KGHM’s 55 per cent share) compared to the previous year.
The financial situation of KGHM’s Chilean mine has made possible, for the first time ever, the reversal of financial flows to the parent company. Money flowed from Chile to Poland. In 2021, for the KGHM’s 55% share, the Sierra Gorda mine paid about USD 420 million, while in the first quarter of 2022 – more than USD 100 million.
