en.Wedoany.com Reported - Chile's Deputy Minister of Mining, Álvaro González, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Patricio Torres, recently attended the 19th regular meeting of the Chile-Argentina Treaty on Mining Integration and Complementarity Management Committee in Buenos Aires. This was the first meeting of the mining agreement since the inauguration of President José Antonio Kast's administration, with a focus on transforming border mining expansion opportunities into new drivers of regional economic growth.
Argentine representatives at the meeting included Mining Secretary Luis Lucero and Director of Latin American and Caribbean Economic Integration Marcos Stancanelli. This meeting is part of a bilateral agenda aimed at promoting investment development and restarting a strategic alliance that can leverage competitive advantages for win-win cooperation in the current global critical minerals supply landscape. González stated at the meeting that through this treaty, mining in the border regions of both countries will become more efficient and cost-effective, fully utilizing synergies to increase the supply of critical minerals to global markets. He noted that the reactivation of the Management Committee three months into the administration presents a national challenge for Chile—to capture a share of the economic value generated by this alliance. The next phase of mining integration must evolve towards a production integration model, sharing infrastructure, suppliers, technical capabilities, and value creation. The success of the treaty does not depend on the number of projects crossing the Andes, but on whether Chile can transform a project portfolio worth over $20.7 billion into more investment, more jobs, more innovation, and more regional opportunities.
In May of this year, the two countries explored the possibility of advancing the restart of the bilateral agreement signed in 1997. This agreement established a legal framework for developing mining projects on the Chile-Argentina border. The restart after nearly three decades coincides with Argentina's largest copper investment cycle since the closure of the Bajo de la Alumbrera mine in 2018.
Regarding the international agenda driving Chile's mining development, the Chilean government emphasizes that the country is a key player in the competition for critical minerals needed for the global energy transition, positioning itself as a strategic partner while maintaining a government agenda that actively attracts foreign investment. Chile's Ministry of Mining has strengthened a work line, hosting high-level delegations from the United Arab Emirates and Japan last week, countries seeking to secure supplies of minerals such as copper and lithium. González stressed at the conclusion of the meeting that the goal is clear: to explore opportunities for investment, cooperation, and strengthening the mining sector with countries that offer substantial contributions to Chile's operations, such as decarbonization, seawater desalination utilization, infrastructure project financing, and greenfield exploration. Both delegations reaffirmed their commitment to advancing this agenda to promote new investment and industry growth.
