Copper: Humanity’s first and most important future metal
Millions of feet of copper wiring will be required for strengthening the world’s power grids, and hundreds of thousands of tonnes more are needed to build wind and solar farms.
An unqualified success and the best one yet. This is how exhibitors, participants and visitors described ExpoMin 2012, the world mining congress held April 9 to 13 in Santiago, Chile.
This year, the event drew record numbers of exhibitors and participants, according to statistics compiled by the ExpoMin 2012 website and the hundreds of comments posted on the Expomin2012 Twitter account.
The event featured 1,300 exhibitors, unveiled 5,000 new products, represented 35 countries and had approximately 70,000 visitors, 4,000 of which were students. Additionally, it is expected the gathering will generate more than $1.7 billion in future business.
“The high number of visitors, students who participated, and jobs that were offered by companies at ExpoMin made it one of the most successful exhibitions that we’ve hosted as a country,” said Hernán De Solminihac, the Chilean mining minister.
At the event, it was announced that approximately 70,000 workers would be needed by the world’s mining industry over the next three years. Other notable highlights included the number of industry investments unveiled at ExpoMin and China’s significant participation.
Diego Hernandez, CEO of Codelco, announced that Latin America will receive half of the US$325 billion in global mining investments expected in the 2012-20 period, with Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Peru receiving the bulk of the funds.
“Latin America mining can definitely compete on the global stage, and will continue doing so,” Hernández said in a speech that opened the event.
With 64 companies showcasing both mining technology and equipment, China had one of the biggest presences at ExpoMin. Among other things, this presence reinforced the good business relations between both countries, said Luis Schmidt Montes, Chile’s ambassador to China. “China is now our principal business partner,” he noted.
Held every two years, the next ExpoMin will be held April 14 to 18, 2014, again, in Santiago, Chile.
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With the contribution of Suzanne Soto, owner of Si! Corporate Communications, a Greater Toronto Area company providing public relations services in both English and Spanish.
