Mining Magazine July 2019 | Page 69

“CHILE ALSO HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO PROVIDE THE LITHIUM AND COBALT REQUIRED ”

— Baldo Prokurica , Minister of Mining , Chile tion is integral to the development of the sector in Chile . “ We have three major mining projects that are digitalising and one that is being operated a thousand kilometres from Santiago ” explains Prokurica . “ We are also using driverless trucks controlled by GPS . At the Gaby mine there are 100 trucks , 330 tonnes each , that operate under driverless mode . At El Teniente , they are deploying risk avoidance remote control over a distance of 100km to prevent any risks to workers that might be related to structural issues .”
Prokurica believes Chile can lead the way and serve as a global example when it comes to the adoption of renewable energy sources . In doing so , the country could also help to address the demands of global population growth and climate change . “ We currently have around 20 % of our power generation coming from renewable sources ,” he confirms . “ And at very competitive prices , lower than coal fire generation . Five years ago , the price per megawatt was about $ 100 and in the latest public tenders that we have the price came down to $ 40 per megawatt .”
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