Chile to strut its stuff at PDAC

In addition to its global leadership in the production of copper and lithium, Chile has other critical minerals to advance the energy transition and is among the most preferred destinations for exploration investments. 

With that in mind, a top-level mining delegation will seek to attract foreign investments during the most important exploration fair in the world in the coming week.

At the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention to be held March 3-6 in Toronto, mining minister Aurora Williams, together with the president of mining association Sonami, Jorge Riesco, and representatives of ProChile, InvestChile and state minerals processing company Enami, will stress Chile’s immense contribution to the global mining industry.

“Chile is the main destination for exploration in Latin America and the fourth destination in the world, behind Australia, Canada and the United States, so the mining potential is extremely significant,” Williams told a press conference on Wednesday. 

Although copper output fell last year by 1.5% to 5.25Mt, the country remained the world’s top producer with a 22.7% share, and was second in lithium and molybdenum with 24.4% and 17.7%, respectively.

In addition, the country leads in the production of iodine and rhenium, with 63.3% and 53.6%, respectively, and is fourth in silver with 5.4%, according to 2023 figures from the US Geological Survey.

At PDAC, Chilean officials will present a mining exploration portfolio of 226 projects including basic, advanced and development projects, "which we believe will be of great interest to investors," said the director of InvestChile, Karla Flores, who added that the portfolio involves potential investments of US$65bn.

“We currently have 197 mining companies exploring in Chile,” said Flores.

At PDAC, Williams and her delegation will hold meetings with multinational companies and investment funds with the expectation of new capital injections.

Enami's project manager, María Cristina Vallejos, said one of its objectives is to promote public-private businesses and look for partners for its "100 mining prospects covering more than 800,000ha," where not only copper and lithium are found but also key minerals such as cobalt, rare earths, manganese and nickel from mine tailings.

On the challenges of attracting investments in lithium, BNamericas asked about the financial crises that hit state copper company Codelco and Enami, the two firms mandated by Chile’s national lithium strategy to create new projects.

“There are financial and other challenges inherent to the industry, but we’re convinced they can be faced. Codelco has had a project in the Salar de Maricunga with a CEOL [special lithium operating contract] since 2018 and the idea is to grant another to Enami, for which an indigenous consultation was initiated on its participation in the Salares Altoandinos project in Atacama region, while a second drilling campaign is carried out,” Williams responded.

The minister said Chile’s lithium strategy involves a new approach to mining, particularly because lithium is in salt flats, which are fragile ecosystems and surrounded by communities that have a different worldview, "whom we respect and we want them to be participants."

There are also plans for productive improvements at current operations in the Salar de Atacama, where “Codelco is leading the negotiations with a focus on the leap in technology,” said Williams.

The national mining policy aims to create a mineral diversification strategy by 2025, double annual investment in greenfield exploration by 2030 compared to the average of the last five years and have 28% of world copper production at 9Mt by 2050, among other things.

The Chilean mining industry represented 14.2% of GDP, 53% of exports and 9% of tax revenues in 2022, according to the central bank.