Colombia always had the potential to become a major mining jurisdiction but the mining sector is now completely frozen. There is a high level of uncertainty due to the governments push to reform the mining code, create a state mining company, and new a environmental decree.
Mining suppliers may use a local subcontractor for a variety of reasons when working on Chilean projects. The issue is that foreign companies can find themselves in trouble if they do not understand how the subcontracting laws work from both a legal and practical perspective.
The Chilean mining sector is considered as a model to the rest of Latin America. Since the pandemic, the USD$60B plus project pipeline has not advanced as fast as many would have hoped. With the recent uncertainty mostly over, there have been more announcements on new projects or investments. Check out our round-up of the latest news to see the most important updates from the last couple of months.
Chilean Congress approved a bill earlier this year to expand criminal liability for economic and environmental crimes which will have implications for foreign companies operating in Chile. The new legislation means that for the first-time, corporate executives and directors can be personally liable for a wide range of misconduct.
Codelco’s title as the world’s largest copper producer is now in jeopardy with production dropping to the lowest level in 25 years. Codelco has several structural projects underway that are meant to boost copper production for the next 50 years but it has been plagued by delays. Check out our overview to understand the current state of Codelco.
After a long sales cycle, the immediate focus for many mining technology and service providers is simply securing or being awarded the work but intellectual property is business-critical and should be treated as such. Mining Suppliers need to ensure they have well drafted clauses that protect their intellectual property while also often giving them the ability to use the data collected to improve their solutions.
At a time when the world needs to find more copper, there are only a few examples of junior exploration companies that have been able to make significant discoveries over the last 10 years in Chile. This is set to change with the recently released Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for Hot Chile’s Costa Fuego Copper-Gold Project.
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