• The Mining Minister, Baldo Prokurica, and the director of InvestChile, Cristián Rodríguez, participated in the launch of PDAC 2020, along with other government officials and representatives of the sector’s companies. The four-day Canadian trade show will have over 1,100 exhibitors and be visited by 25,000 people.

Between March 1 and 4, Minister Baldo Prokurica will head the Chilean delegation to the trade show of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), considered the world’s most important venue for new mining projects and explorations.

At the launch event, Minister Prokurica assured that “we will have good results because we have sought to provide the greatest amount of information and attract the greatest amount of investment to our country.”

The Undersecretary for Foreign Relations, Carolina Valdivia, underlined the interest that the international trade show generates each year: it is expected to have over 1,100 exhibitors from 132 countries and be attended by more than 25,000 visitors over its four days. “Supporting the internationalization of Chilean companies is a key objective for the Foreign Ministry, particularly given the current situation in the country. ProChile has been essential in seeking more and better opportunities for our international companies to go out into the world. In this way, we are working to enable Chileans to access the benefits of trade agreements. That is one of the goals we have set ourselves as a government,” she stressed.

Twenty Chilean organizations and institutions will be present at PDAC 2020, an event that, since its first version in 1932, has experienced exponential growth, both in its size and its influence in the industry.

The director of InvestChile, Cristián Rodríguez, indicated that “in 2020, we will be at more than 50 meetings abroad, promoting the portfolio of mining exploration projects and, of course, the rest of the public portfolio that our country offers.”

New Chilean developments at PDAC 2020

During his visit to Toronto, Minister Prokurica will participate actively in the opening of the trade show and – together with SERNAGEOMIN, COCHILCO and ENAMI – will hold a series of meetings to present to investors the portfolio of projects that will represent the country in this 14^th version of the show.

On the third day, Minister Prokurica will head Chile Day, an activity during which important lithium projects, associated with state companies  (Codelco and ENAMI), will be presented, along with gold exploration initiatives, their metallogenic strips, market estimates and new challenges.

The 40 initiatives are described in the book “Chile: Leader in metals that facilitate the future”. Minister Prokurica highlighted the projects in copper (26), gold (11), sodium chloride (1), zinc (1) and titanium (1), which are among those Chile will be presenting at the Canadian trade show. “We are going to present the book prepared by the Ministry to publicize the projects available for investment, particularly those geared to electromobility and gold, one of the options in which markets take refuge when there is instability in the world.”

One of the Chilean novelties at PDAC 2020 will be titanium, represented by the Cerro Blanco project, the first rutile concentrate (TiO₂) mining initiative to be developed in Chile. It is located south of the town of Freirina in the Atacama Region, has a useful life of 21 years and its Environmental Impact Study has already been approved. It will require an investment of US$238 million and, in its construction and operating phases, will create some 1,200 jobs.