After our discussion with Courtney Kingston, I got really interested in getting to know more about the mining industry in Chile, as Courtney said that the country thrives on that particular industry. Chile's main ore resource is copper. Every citizen in Chile is aware of the current price of copper as it has the biggest effect on the economy. Copper provides 20% of the country's GDP and 60% of its exports! That led to an annual economy expansion of 6%, with reduced poverty and unemployment. The world's biggest mine Escondida, is far from the capital (almost 1300km), mainly found in the Atacama desert. The world's biggest copper mining company, BHP Billiton has two huge pits there, one of them being 3.9km wide and 650m deep! Enormous., house-sized trucks haul about 1.5 million Tons of rock everyday. The nearest town is the port of Antofagasta, which serves as the main hub for relaxation and vacation of the workers, along with living settlements. The town is located 170km away from the mines. Sadly also, no alcohol is served as machinery and alcohol don't mix! Copper demand in the world has risen, especially in China as its rural population started to move more into its big cities. Chile earned a yearly income of around $2.1 Billion in the 2000-2005 era and jumped to $11.5 Billion between 2005-2011 after the chinese demand boom! However, things will not always remain so well. With the current Chinese slow in economical growth, Chile got affected big time. China buys 40% of the world's copper, any change there will have a huge effect on the Chilean export capabilities. The amount of ore in Chile will go down from 1.4% to 0.7% by 2025. Chile faces economical challenges as wages start to get higher and the cost of energy is very high, which does not allow much flexibility for the big mining companies. Neighboring countries such as Peru, are trying to develop their own mines now, with cheaper costs. How will Chile survive the coming decade or two and what will be its new economical development strategy? |