PUBLICATION

Global Business Reports

AUTHORS

Ben Cherrington, Mariolga Guyon

Chile Mining 2022 Pre-Release Edition

April 22, 2022

Chile is at an inflection point in its history as the country prepares to draft a new constitution. As the world’s largest producer of copper and second largest producer of lithium, what happens in Chile impacts the global mining business. Moreover, the importance of Chilean metal production to drive the global decarbonization effort should not be understated. It is in this context that the world has its eyes on the regulatory reform proposals currently being debated, some of which have caused alarm. However, the consensus on the ground in Santiago is that radical changes are unlikely to transpire, and although the industry faces uncertainty in the short term, Chile will remain the premier mining jurisdiction in Latin America. 

The pre-release edition of GBR’s annual Chile Mining series delves into the themes impacting the country’s mining sector in 2022, comprising analysis based on over 60 interviews with the leading executives from major producers, associations, juniors, consultants, investors and service providers, to provide an in-depth and holistic view of what is happening now, and more pertinently, what could happening in the months and years ahead.

RELATED INTERVIEWS MORE INTERVIEWS

Iván Arriagada provides an update on Antofagasta Minerals’ Chilean operations.
Don Lindsay details the development of Teck’s QB2 project in Chile.
Joshua Olmsted outlines Freeport McMoRan’s growth strategy in the Americas.
Aurora Davidson explains Amerigo Resources’ business model and evolution of the MVC operation.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

MACIG 2025 - Mining in Africa Country Investment Guide

It is said that mining is a patient industry. Current demand projections are not. Demand for minerals deemed ‘critical’ is set to increase almost fourfold by 2030, according to the UN. Demand for nickel, cobalt and lithium is predicted to double, triple and rise ten-fold, respectively, between 2022 and 2050. The world will need to mine more copper between 2018 and 2050 than it has mined throughout history. 2050 is also the deadline to curb emissions before reaching a point of ‘no return.’ The pace of mineral demand and the consequences of not meeting it force the industry to act fast and take more risks. Mining cannot afford to be a patient industry anymore. The scramble for supply drives miners back to geological credentials, and therefore to places like the African Central Copperbelt.

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MACIG

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