SMI-ICE-Chile’s Executive Director was invited to give the opening remarks for this important meeting, which brought together the sector’s main representatives to talk about the future of this key industry for Chilean economic development and the global energy transition.
The Ecos de la Minería Summit, held at the offices of newspaper El Mercurio and broadcast by EmolTV, was attended by the Mining Minister, Aurora Williams; the chairman of Codelco, Máximo Pacheco; the director of CESCO and Vantaz Group, Daniela Desormeaux; the director of El Mercurio, Carlos Schaerer; the president of SONAMI, Jorge Riesco; the executive president of the Mining Council, Joaquín Villarino, as well as representatives from academia and the mining innovation ecosystem.
In front of a packed auditorium, SMI-ICE-Chile’s Executive Director Doug Aitken opened the discussion by calling for attendees to leave their comfort zone and seek greater innovation to ensure a more sustainable future for the industry: “In the last decade we have experienced several disasters involving tailings, fatal accidents, conflicts related to the use of water, drying of salt flats and wetlands, and dust production… all industry practices that come into conflict with the powerful global environmental movement,” he stated. “These are worrying signs.”
Aitken referred, for example, to the goals of the national mining policy 2050 regarding increased productivity and use of continental water, highlighting how current indicators are far from the proposed targets. “We are behind, and we have a responsibility,” he emphasized. “We are progressing, but very slowly, which makes it easy to imagine an industry in 15 more years that is very similar to the current one. To truly excel, we need to rethink our purpose, size up the current situation with its complexities, and focus on maximizing long-term value for society. Because the status quo is, without a doubt, a very risky scenario.”
He called participants to focus on three challenges: integration, innovation and inclusion.
Aitken first told the story of a large, failed project and then rewrote the ending, pondering what would have happened if it had been approached from a different perspective. “The case ended badly because it lacked an integrated outlook,” he explained. “Prestripping took place before installing the water management systems, and a series of intense rains ended up contaminating the fragile ecosystems. Furthermore, transactional relationships were developed instead of integrating the communities and their vision for the territory, asking them how the mine fit with their vision of the future. This could have led to virtuous dialogue based on trust and mutual understanding. This project complied with the law, but that is no longer enough.”
The second “i” was innovation. “The Global Innovation Tracker reveals that the metals and construction sector has the lowest rate of R&D investment to revenue among major sectors worldwide,” Aitken commented. “Those of us who work in R&D suffer from this, because they often tell us: ‘We have immediate problems to solve, and there is no time or budget for long-term solutions.’ However, it is precisely the long-term solutions that will determine the future of mining.”
His third concept was inclusion. “Too often, mining operations and communities are perceived as on separate paths. “Why isn’t the mine part of the community?” he asked. “Because there is a lack of understanding and mutual exchange, particularly from the beginning of a project, which generates a vicious cycle of inadequate participation, lack of information exchange and growing distrust.
“We also cannot ignore the inclusion of women in mining,” he continued. “We have seen important progress, but a significant gap remains in management positions. Inclusion,” he continued, “generates more diversity and creativity, new ideas and innovation, and a more integrated view of the system, leading to better performance, productivity and better sustainability outcomes. All of this is connected. It is a virtuous circle that can make mining a prominent industry, truly at the forefront of the global economy. But we won’t achieve it if we continue to set the pace with much talk and little action.
“Everything points to leadership, to the people we have here,” he emphasized. “We need leaders who have a clear path, and the willingness to align with other groups, leaders who understand the complexities of the system, who possess the ambition and courage to drive their organization to change, leaders who can inspire others to take action and to develop their people in the process. Leaders from government, industry, science, civil society, we have to come together to talk about this and align around an inspiring strategy to achieve it, not just a list of goals, but an integrated, innovative and inclusive strategy to build the mining sector that our society needs.”
His presentation was followed by the first of the three panels, entitled “Mining of the Future.” Moderated by journalist María Soledad Vial, it was an interesting conversation between the Mining Minister, Aurora Williams; the chairman of Codelco, Máximo Pacheco; the president of Sonami, Jorge Riesco; the president of Cesco, Daniela Desormeaux; and the president of the Mining Council, Joaquín Villarino.
During this dialogue, several of them referenced Doug Aitken’s remarks.
