With the participation of senior executives of mining companies, Sonami and headed by the Minister of Mining Marcela Hernando and the President of Congress, Amparo Cornejo, the first day of the International Congress of the mining exhibition began, which will feature 14 panels and more than 100 panelists from government, industry and business. In this framework, the challenges of mining in Chile were addressed, here mainly referred to the development of new production strategies with respect to lithium, community development, a sustainable future and public-private collaboration to achieve the objectives set for the future. Regarding these issues, the president of the Congress and Vice President Amparo Cornejo, commented that, “we have an opportunity to strengthen the relationship with the communities and above all the development with local suppliers, all the companies are focused on this. We have training programs and we have development programs for small companies, but perhaps this is still in the sphere of social responsibility or good practices. When we can incorporate the chain of local suppliers more intensively, I believe that the impact will be much greater and that will allow much more legitimacy in our operations”. For her part, the Minister of Mining, Marcela Hernando, reflected on the current situation of mining in Chile, “I would like to highlight a phrase that the President said (at the inauguration), we must build bridges and lower resistance, and with regard to the launching of the lithium strategy, and what is happening today in the world and not only in Chile. This is not done alone, it is done by everyone, it is done with a lot of public-private collaboration and in this context we also invite them to collaborate, the opportunity is today and this is a government that is aware of that”. Jorge Gómez, CEO of Collahuasi, in the same line as the Minister, states that “we are at a crucial moment, we have the great opportunity to be protagonists of a better quality of life for the world, with decarbonization. I believe that renewable energy strategies must continue to increase significantly and exponentially over time”. In addition, Gómez stresses that Chile must continue to be “a reference with respect to copper production and what this means for the world. The world cannot wait any longer, therefore, we also have to be responsible in making decisions at the right time”. Patricio Hidalgo, CEO of Anglo American, also believes it is time to make important changes. “I think we are at an extremely relevant turning point and the challenges are gigantic when you think about climate change. The truth is that it is an enormous challenge for humanity and the truth is that we are not going to achieve this transition without the minerals we produce here in Chile. This is a tremendous responsibility for all of us, and at the same time, the only way to do it is by transforming mining”. Finally, and along the same lines as the Minister of Mining, Hidalgo emphasizes the collaboration between the parties to achieve the objectives that are set. “I think we are all going to have to be very humble, because none of us can solve such big problems alone. Collaboration as an industry, stakeholders and communities is going to become more and more important in order to succeed in these upcoming challenges,” Hidalgo concludes. On the first day, headed by Sonami, the panel “Mining in America, opportunities and challenges” was also held. This brought together panelists from 7 different chambers, societies and mining groups in Latin America, who shared the different political and social contexts, and the challenges that each country faces. The guests were Franco Mignacco, President of the Argentine Chamber of Mining Entrepreneurs; Rinaldo Mancin, Director of the Brazilian Mining Institute – IBRAM; Cristián Argandoña León, President (S) of the National Mining Society; Juan Camilo Nariño, President of the Colombian Mining Association; Rodrigo Izurieta, Vice President of the Mining Chamber of Ecuador; José Jaime Gutiérrez, President of the Mining Chamber of Mexico; Roberto Cuevas, President of the Mining Chamber of Panama; Domingo Drago, President of the Mining Sector, National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy. The congress will continue throughout Expomin 2023, with a variety of panels and topics on sustainability, new mining projects in Chile, gender inclusion and equity, occupational safety, cybersecurity, among others. SEE THE CONGRESS PROGRAM: https://www.expomin.cl/descargas/congreso_expomin_2023.pdf FREE SHUTTLE BUSES To facilitate the arrival to the event there will be shuttle buses, which will operate during the four days of the fair, from Metro Pajaritos to the fairgrounds Parque Fisa: -Timetable: from 08:30 to 18:30 hrs. – Carousel format: The tour starts once the bus is full. – Those who wish to use the transportation must present their QR code to access the Fair. PARKING LOTS -The fairgrounds will have 6,500 parking spaces. TECHNICAL INFO: Days and hours: The event will be held from April 24 to 27. From 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Press contact: Cristián Larraín +569 52087993 Ricardo Varas +569 4432 6608