Pasek Minerales has been mining dunite (magnesium silicate) since 1972 in an open pit located in Landoi (Cariño), in the area of the Cabo Ortegal Geological Complex.

The company, which generates more than twenty direct jobs and as many indirect jobs, has an annual extraction capacity of some 700,000 tons of ore. After extraction, the ore is milled and classified at the plant and then shipped to customers around the world through the ports of Cariño and Ferrol. 

"Approximately 95% is exported in bulk to different European countries, including France, Germany and Poland," explains Juan José Álvarez Rueda, director of Pasek Minerales. The remaining 5% is exported packaged, reaching different countries in South America, as well as the USA, Arabia, Indonesia or Vietnam. 

Dunite is one of the key flux materials for the iron and steel industry, a sector in which it is currently mainly used as an additive in blast furnaces, for filling the tappets of electric furnaces or as a minority component of the basic refractories used in contact with molten steel.

Galicia Innovation and Design Awards

The Galicia Innovation and Design Awards, promoted by the Xunta de Galicia through the Axencia Galega de Innovación, recognize year after year the work of Galician companies as generators of value and quality of life through innovation, development and design.

In the last edition, Pasek Minerales was the company awarded the innovation prize in the Large Company category. "This award has been a recognition of the intensive R&D&I work that we have promoted in recent years in search of new applications and sectors for dunite," explains Álvarez Rueda.

In fact, the company has two circular economy projects underway for the reuse of its ultrafine washing tailings, catalogued in the Materioteca de Galicia: the first focused on CO2 absorption projects and the second on the manufacture of ballast for offshore wind power.

Sustainability of the mining sector

The sustainability of Pasek's mining project is a constant in the company's policies. "For us, that our products are as sustainable as possible and leave the smallest carbon footprint is fundamental," explains Juan José Álvarez Rueda. In fact, Pasek has just invested 400,000 euros to start up a solar plant for self-supply, with the aim of achieving a minimum 25% annual average of energy self-sufficiency. And, for the future, the idea is to be able to return part of this energy to public facilities in the town of Landoi.

They also have permanent investments for the elimination of noise and dust that are a nuisance to the environment. In addition, since practically the beginning of the operation, they have a continuous restoration plan to guarantee the maximum landscape integration of the operation.

"If we add to all this the natural CO2 capture capacity of dunite, which we are investigating, or the commitment we will make to reduce the carbon footprint in the transport and logistics part with green hydrogen, the idea in the coming years is to finally achieve zero emissions in our products," he concludes.