LME Week: Chile progressing $105B copper, lithium mining expansion project pipeline

Chile plans to expand its mining sector by scaling up lithium and copper production, potentially diversifying into rare earths as part of its $105 billion project pipeline through 2034, Minister for Economy and Mining, Daniel Mas, said.

The country is entering a multibillion-dollar investment cycle, with mining accounting for 63% of all investment proposals submitted for environmental impact assessments since March 2026. The share represents 21 projects valued at $24.5 billion, Mas said at an event organized by the Anglo Chilean Society as part of the Oct. 19-23 LME Week.

New milestones

Specifically, Chile aims to boost its annual copper output to 6 million metric tons by 2030, up from 5.3 million mt/year recently, with some of that growth to come through efforts to double the contributions of small and mid-sized mining operations to 100,000 mt/year and 500,000 mt/year, respectively.

Mas added that Chile is the world's largest copper producer with a 23% market share and 18% of global reserves.

In the lithium space, Chile, currently the world's third-largest producer with a 19% market share, is looking to expand from a single producing salt flat, Salar de Atacama, to a broad portfolio.

In August, the government awarded its first special lithium operation contract, or CEOL, a time- and volume-limited operating lease, to domestic boric acid producer Quiborax.

That CEOL authorizes the company to recover 20,000 mt of lithium carbonate from tailings of its existing ulexite processing operations at its El Águila plant, according to Mas.

Chile has five more CEOLs nearing completion, and these are expected to open some of its 69 virgin salt flats and saline lagoons to private investors.

The country will also look to diversifying its mining industry toward strategic elements for advanced technology and defense, specifically rare earths, by utilizing ionic deposits in its south-central Ñuble and Biobío regions, Mas said.

Stable tax regime

To move all that along, creating more opportunities for private capital and ensure project profitability, the Chilean government, since it assumed power in March, has been adapting its regulatory framework to minimize delays along the permitting process and introduce fiscal incentives.

The National Reconstruction Bill, signed into law this October, mandates a gradual reduction in the corporate tax rate from 27% to 23% and guarantees 20 years of tax stability for large-scale mining developments.

From competition to cooperation

Chile's ambitions in mining extend beyond its borders, with the country seeking to promote development across the Southern Cone Mining District, the resource-rich region of South America spanning Chile, Argentina and parts of Bolivia.

Chile's mining industry already secures 70% of its electricity from renewables and 41% of its water from desalination. The country aims to leverage its expertise in mining, water and energy management, and its developed infrastructure and ports to drive growth within the South American critical-minerals bloc, according to the minister.

Chile has reactivated its Mining Integration and Complementation Treaty with Argentina. Signed in 1997, it sets a framework for potential joint development of deposits that straddle the shared border. Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru also signed a joint declaration on strategic minerals in August.

Together, the countries account for 35% of global copper and 28% of global silver production and hold 43% of global lithium resources, Mas said.