La Jornada: Chile, Bolivia, Argentina and Peru create alliance to exploit critical minerals

Santiago. Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru yesterday signed a joint declaration on strategic minerals with the purpose of promoting integration and positioning the region as “a reliable supplier”, amid growing global demand linked to the energy transition and new technologies.

“It is the first firm step towards a permanent alliance. Let us position the Southern Cone as the most reliable, sustainable and competitive supplier of strategic minerals,” said the Minister of Economy and Mining of Chile, Daniel Mas, in a statement, after a meeting with representatives of the participating countries held in Santiago.

The four signatory countries have as a common factor large reserves of lithium and copper – essential in the manufacture of high-tech equipment – ​​and are led by governments identified with the right.

The document states that the signatory nations will promote responsible investments, strengthen supplier chains and expand technical cooperation, with the aim of taking advantage of the regional potential in minerals. It also establishes working groups to exchange geological information, coordinate inspection criteria and sectoral policies, as well as develop specialized human capital.

The declaration was signed by the Minister of Economy and Mining of Chile, the Secretary of Mining of Argentina, Luis Lucero; the Vice Minister of Mining Policy, Regulation and Supervision of Bolivia, Walter Landívar, and the Minister of Energy and Mines of Peru, Guillermo Shinno. Mas pointed out that the energy transition and the development of infrastructure for artificial intelligence could increase the demand for critical minerals by between 400 and 600 percent over the next decade, a scenario that, he stated, raises the need to strengthen the stability of global supplies.

“Strategic minerals must be transformed into dynamic instruments to generate greater added value, guaranteeing the development of reliable supply chains that translate into closing social and economic gaps,” Shinno declared.

“Argentina will be part of the region that will generate more than half of the world’s copper,” Lucero said in the statement.