At the event "From Resources to Jobs: The Value of Minerals for Latin America," authorities, multilateral organizations, mining executives, and international experts discussed how the region can capture greater value from mining, with a focus on employment, industrialization, infrastructure, and territorial development.
Santiago, June 17, 2026. With the participation of authorities from Chile and across Latin America, representatives of the World Bank Group, ambassadors, mining executives, multilateral organizations, and international experts, the event "From Resources to Jobs: The Value of Minerals for Latin America" was held in Santiago.
The international dialogue took place in a context where the region holds some of the world's most significant deposits of copper and lithium. In this regard, Chile's Minister of Economy and Mining, Daniel Mas, emphasized the sector's role in job creation, stating that "the first link in the virtuous cycle of mineral wealth is the generation of formal, high-quality employment, with specialization, good wages, and opportunities for families. Its impact goes far beyond large corporations: behind every mining operation there are thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises providing services, metalworking, software, transportation, and innovation. The challenge is to continue strengthening this productive ecosystem."
Namrata Thapar, Global Director for Metals and Minerals at the World Bank Group, noted that "Latin America has a significant opportunity to translate its mineral wealth into jobs, growth, and development. The greatest gains will come from everything that happens around the mine-including supplier industries, processing, infrastructure, logistics, and workforce development". She added that "the countries that move fastest and farthest will be those that combine resource potential with stable legal framework, high environmental and social standards, and the ability to attract responsible private investment".
During the event, four key areas were addressed to capture greater value from mining: quality employment, industrialization, strategic infrastructure, and territorial development. Participants included, among others, Namrata Thapar; William Maloney, Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank Group; Joaquín Villarino, Executive President of the Mining Council; Jorge Cantallopts, Executive Director of Cesco; Carolina Vásquez, CEO of Sonami; Karolina Guay, Ambassador of Canada to Chile; Iván Arriagada, CEO of Antofagasta Minerals; Gloria Hutt, President of Copsa; Eduardo Bitrán, researcher at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez; Carolina Rojas, Head of Mining at IDB; Miguel Vargas, Governor of Atacama; and Gustavo Fernández, Minister of Production, Labor, and Innovation of San Juan, Argentina.
Julio Pertuzé, President of Fundación Chile, highlighted that "the geopolitical context, the energy transition, and the growing demand for critical minerals represent a historic opportunity for Latin America. We must seize it," adding that "we firmly believe that the most relevant challenges are best addressed through collaboration among all stakeholders. This capacity for coordination, which has characterized us, is precisely what we aim to bring to today's discussion."
Jean-Marc Arbogast, World Bank Group Country Manager for Chile, stated that "we want to be a strategic partner for Chile in advancing toward a more competitive mining sector and in multiplying the value of its minerals, generating quality jobs, new capabilities, investment, and opportunities for people. This agenda is also linked to water security, the energy transition, infrastructure, and innovation-essential factors for mining that is sustainable and has a greater impact on development."
Participants agreed on the importance of advancing a shared agenda and promoting active public-private partnerships. One of the key conclusions was that sustained collaboration among governments, companies, suppliers, academia, and communities will be essential to transform Latin America's minerals into employment, industrialization, and territorial development. In this context, strengthening linkages with local suppliers and fostering a renewed relationship with communities emerged as fundamental pillars to enhance local ownership and capture greater value from mining.
This event was supported by the Extractives Global Programmatic Support (EGPS), through its Resilient and Inclusive Supply Chain Enhancement Partnership (RISE), an initiative that brings together partners such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Switzerland, and United Kingdom to strengthen sustainable supply chain development in the mining sector.
