Mining is the main economic activity in Chile, with more than 6,000 companies carrying out mining-related activities, the industry represents 10% of the country’s GDP.
More than half of Chile’s exports are of mining-related products. The Chilean government expects exports to double in the next 15 years, bearing in mind that there are at least 50 projects in the exploration stage and that these projects usually last an average of 10 years.
shadow=’no-shadow’ position=’center’ custom_border=’av-border-thin’ custom_width=’50px’ custom_border_color=” custom_margin_top=’30px’ custom_margin_bottom=’30px’ icon_select=’yes’ custom_icon_color=” icon=’ue808′ font=’entypo-fontello’ id=” custom_class=” av_uid=’av-3lu2xw’ admin_preview_bg=”]
Chile has the largest copper and lithium reserves in the world.
Chile is the world’s biggest producer of copper. Six of the ten most important copper mines in the world are in Chile, producing one third of the world’s copper. 90% of Chile’s mining exports are copper, 55% of those are refined products while the remaining 45% are concentrates, with Asia, specifically China, being the main importer.
Together with Argentina and Bolivia, Chile forms the lithium triangle, an area in which the largest reserves of the world’s lithium are concentrated. Chile exports lithium mainly as lithium carbonate, a material used in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries and the global demand for lithium is expected to quadruple by 2025.
