The $825 million acquisition of Rincon gives Rio Tinto a large undeveloped lithium brine project located in the heart of South America's lithium triangle.

The proposal is to build a plant on the coast of the Valparaiso region that would produce drinking water for residents in exchange for access to waste water that could be used at mines.

The last time the copper industry gathered in Santiago, prices were below $3/lb amid concerns over a slowdown in Chinese demand.

Patricio Vergara, VP of mining resources and development, said the hived-off assets could become eventual partnerships.

The collapse of a tailings dam at Vale's Corrego do Feijao mine in Brumadinho released a mudflow that killed 270 people in January 2019.

A deep divide is opening up as investors focus their hopes on commodity exporters in the Middle East and Latin America.

In Colombia, 74% of residents of municipalities where mining operations exist and 64% of non-mining municipalities believe that mining is beneficial for the country.