Chile, the world’s leading copper producer, opens a large mining fair

The Expomin fair, one of the main mining meetings in Latin America, started this Monday in Chile, the country that produces the most copper in the world, at a time when the industry faces new challenges in environmental matters and just when the price of the red metal suffers swings.

More ecological loading equipment, remote controls for remote machinery management or innovative strategies to eliminate mining waste in a sustainable way are some of the proposals that are promoted at this fair, which will last for five days in Santiago and which expects more than 50,000 guests.

“This is the second most important mining fair in the world and shows the sophistication of an industry that, to remain more competitive and sustainable, has to be more efficient and innovative”, Affirmed the Minister of Mining, Juan Carlos Jobet.

The event will be attended by companies from more than 30 countries, investors, suppliers, mining authorities and key institutions and will function as a business center to carry out transactions worth US $ 1 billion, said Expomin executive director Francisco Sotomayor.

“The great challenges and future development of mining 4.0, new technologies for sustainable and green mining will be addressed”, Detailed Sotomayor.

Other topics that will be analyzed are the value of inclusion and diversity in human capital and the role of women in mining, a section that will feature the participation of the Woman in Mining Chile organization.

On Tuesday there will be a panel where the four most important candidates in the presidential elections on November 21 will participate with the aim of opening the debate on the economic and environmental impact of mining in the country and its future development.

In Chile, mining represents 10% of the country’s GDP and giants such as BHP, Anglo American, Codelco and Antofagasta Minerals operate, but also countless small and medium-sized companies.

This industry, which for decades has been considered a path of economic development, is increasingly pointed out by environmentalists and experts as a source of pollution and a waste of water in some areas where this resource is scarce.

The fair takes place just when the price of copper, of which Chile It is the main world producer, it is high, above US $ 4.5 per pound, but after several weeks of strong fluctuations.

The red metal, fundamental in the transmission of energy, has become the main Chilean product and accounts for almost 50% of exports.