Industry Thoughts: Chile's Challenges Continue
A difficult landscape with positive signs ahead
“A significant issue is the rejection of new projects for political reasons. Recently, the Dominga Project was approved on an environmental level and met all the required regulations. The approval then went to a political committe and was rejected. Investors lost immense investment.”
Manuel Viera, CEO, Metaproject
“Social unrest, constitutional change, and the tax reform (mining royalty included) modifications add to a cocktails of risks, deterring investors from putting their money into Chile during the latest period. The country aims to grow at above it's trend GDP growth rate, but at the current levels of investment, this growth will surely be difficult to attain.”
Germán Millán, Partner, PwC Chile
“Among the main challenges are the continuous changes in the regulatory apparatus of mining activities related to our services, for example, the current regulations in the GISTM. I believe Chile has developed very advanced methods for water optimization based on the experience of the country in copper processing.”
Juan Ríos, General Manager, WSP
“Currently, there is no critical mass of Engineers of Record in Chile. However, I observe a growing interest among young engineers in geoscience and geotechnical engineering of tailings dams.”
Iván Rayo, General Manager, JRI Ingeniería
“The recent approval of the royalty regulation is a significant step towards providing clear expectations for companies investing in Chile. It is a boundary condition that we must consider for new projects and adapt current projects to it. Progress towards certainty is essential, as it was lacking until a few weeks ago.”
Agustín Cabañas, General Manager, R&Q Ingeniería
