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A former BHP Group executive will become Chile’s next mining minister, taking charge of efforts to expand copper and lithium production in the country with the largest reserves in the world of both metals.
Santiago Montt resigned as chief executive officer of Los Andes Copper Ltd. to join the cabinet of President-Elect José Antonio Kast, the Vancouver-based junior miner said in a statement Tuesday.
Mining companies are betting Kast’s pro-business agenda will help accelerate projects after declining ore grades left copper output largely flat over the past two decades. Montt brings first-hand experience of Chile’s permitting challenges. At Los Andes Copper, he sought to advance the Vizcachitas project amid opposition from local communities concerned about the environmental impact.
“The incoming minister faces the critical task of accelerating a substantial $105 billion backlog in mining investments, while simultaneously revising and amending imminent reforms to the permitting framework and environmental assessment processes,” said Cesar Perez-Novoa, an analyst at BTG Pactual in Santiago.
Before working at Los Andes Copper, Montt oversaw corporate affairs at BHP Minerals Americas for more than a decade. He holds a doctorate in law from Yale University and a master’s degree in political science from Princeton University.
He will succeed Aurora Williams when Kast is sworn in on March 11. The president-elect is scheduled to present his full cabinet at a ceremony on Tuesday evening.
Montt will remain with Los Andes Copper until Feb. 19. Chief Geologist Antony Amberg will replace him on an interim basis.
–With assistance from Carolina Gonzalez.
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