• Mining Minister Baldo Prokurica, accompanied by the Undersecretary for Foreign Relations, Carolina Valdivia, and the Director of InvestChile, Cristián Rodríguez, announced details of Chile’s participation in the PDAC Convention 2019, which will take place in Toronto on March 3-6.

Four lithium projects form part of the portfolio of projects that Chile will be promoting at the 2019 Convention of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), which will take place in Toronto on March 3-6. The announcement was made by Mining Minister Baldo Prokurica this Wednesday, ahead of Chile’s participation in the world’s most important exploration and mining fair.

Minister Prokurica was accompanied by the Undersecretaries for Foreign Relations and Mining, Carolina Valdivia and Pablo Terrazas, respectively, as well as the Director of InvestChile, Cristián Rodríguez, the acting Director of ProChile, Rose Marie Bedecarratz, and public-private representatives of the official delegation that will represent Chile at the fair, including Sernageomin, Cochilco, Enami, Codelco and the Mining Council.

The Mining Minister indicated that “the focus of Chile’s presence at PDAC 2019 will be the launch of the book ‘Chile, A Country of Opportunities in Investment and Development’, which promotes 32 medium-scale mining projects that, for the first time, include four lithium projects as well as some cobalt so that we can identify our country’s potential as regards electromobility.”

He added that “the book prepared by the Division of Sustainable Development of the Undersecretariat of Mining, together with InvestChile, for the first time contains fairly accurate data about the different projects, particularly in the medium-scale mining sector, in a bid to attract investors and thus have good results from our participation in the fair. The book can be accessed through a QR code, which we will take to Canada, as well as through our ministry’s platforms.”

The Undersecretary for Foreign Relations, Carolina Valdivia, highlighted the role of Canada as a trading partner, noting that it is “the third largest investor in Chile and N° 1 in mining. In addition, it is the second destination for Chilean investment overseas in the mining sector.”

The Director of InvestChile, Cristián Rodríguez, referred to the “key role investment plays and will play in this sector. Despite the slowdown of recent years, the stock of foreign direct investment in mining reached over US$75,000 million in 2017, equivalent to 27% of total investment, a figure that confirms the sector as one of our main sources of foreign capital. The presence of InvestChile [in the fair] represents a renewal of the commitment that, as an agency, we made years ago to Chile’s mining sector and reaffirms our partnership with the Mining Ministry and ProChile in pursuit of a common goal, which is to bring the opportunities our country offers to the attention of the mining world.”

Finally, Mauro Valdés, President of the National High-Grade Mining Program, indicated that “the aim of this initiative is not only to increase output of the minerals necessary for purposes such as electromobility but also to contribute to the productivity and competitiveness of our mining sector and the sophistication and diversification of our country’s output by leveraging the sector of our economy that is a symbol internationally.”

“Chile, A Country of Opportunities in Investment and Development”

The initiatives included in the book include some that have not yet been submitted for environmental evaluation (2) and others that have environmental approval but have not yet made the planned investments (5).

Out of the 25 exploration projects, 88% are located in the Regions of Antofagasta (7), Atacama (9) and Coquimbo (6). The initiatives cover a wide range of minerals: copper (7 projects); lithium (4); gold (4); cobalt (1); IOCG and polymetallic deposits (8); and other minerals (1).

The PDAC Convention takes place annually and attracts some 30,000 visitors from across five continents, who are able to learn about the latest developments, trends and innovations in the mining sector internationally. Junior companies open their exploration programs and development projects to the scrutiny of their peers, investors, financiers and specialized analysts while mining suppliers can promote and sell their exploration products and services.

Download the portfolio of mining projects here.