Chile has presented 40 mining projects, mostly copper and gold, to potential investors at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention in Toronto this week.
Mining Minister Baldo Prokurica, who headed the Chilean delegation, launched a book with details of these mining investment projects, 34 of which are at the exploration stage and six in the predevelopment stage.
The majority of the projects are in copper and gold, but there are also salt, titanium and a zinc polymetallic deposit listed as investment opportunities.
“We are aware that our country is a great facilitator of natural resources for the technologies of the future and electromobility,” said Prokurica.
Chile is the world's leading producer of copper and rhenium, the second of lithium and molybdenum, and the sixth of silver. It accounts for 55% of international output of rhenium, 28% of copper, 22% of molybdenum, 19% of lithium and 5% of silver.
According to the Chilean Copper Commission, 44 mining projects, which together represent an investment of $72.5-billion, will start operations between 2019 and 2028. The Antofagasta region of northern Chile leads the list, accounting for 34% of the total expected investment, and 96% of the investment in this region will be in copper.