MINING FOR DEVELOPMENT
LEVERAGING THE CHILEAN EXPERIENCE FOR AFRICA
Embassy of Chile in Ethiopia
A Round Table on opportunities for cooperation in the minerals sector between Chile and Africa
19-20 June 2017
MEETING REPORT
INTRODUCTION
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he Republic of Chile has, through the use of investment, trade and industrial policies, harnessed its role as the world’s largest copper producer in order to drive diversification, value addition and higher income generation. The history and successes of Chile’s mining sector provides a positive example for other countries to emulate, and has resulted in a model that will prove very useful for many African countries as they pursue mineral-based development. In this regard, the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and Chilean Embassy in Ethiopia jointly organized a high-level round table on the theme of “Mining for development – leveraging the Chilean experience for Africa,” in Addis Ababa on 19 and 20 June 2017. The event brought together Ministers, government officials and other stakeholders from several African countries together in dialogue with Chilean counterparts. The round table was convened to yield constructive dialogue on concrete steps to develop a productive, diversified and inclusive mineral sector in Africa based on the successful strategies employed in Chile, as well as to explore possibilities for partnerships between Chile and Africa such as through joint-ventures, amongst other mechanisms. The round table also aimed to shed light on specific institutions and success stories from Chile. These included the National Copper Corporation of Chile (CODELCO), and Chilean National Mining Corporation (ENAMI). CODELCO, the largest copper producer in the world and a State-owned firm, has espoused the benefits of a collaborative environment between the government and private sector, and support to the development of the mining industry supply chain. ENAMI has managed to support Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners through providing stable prices in its copper purchase mechanisms, as well as business support services.
“The goals of this round table were directly in line with the AMDC mandate to assist African countries in laying the groundwork for a mineral sector that contributes more to sustainable socioeconomic development, as outlined in the Africa Mining Vision.” 1
WELCOMING REMARKS
Dr. Abdalla Hamdok
Ambassador Jaime Chomali
Dr. Abdalla Hamdok, Acting Executive Secretary of ECA, welcomed the participants to
Addis Ababa and thanked the Embassy of Chile for the initiative in promoting Chile as a success story in mining, as well as the AMDC for continuing to spur policy dialogue on mineral-based development. He noted that this meeting comes at a pivotal moment as commodity price volatility has highlighted vulnerability of African economies to global shocks, with macroeconomic indicators ranging from government revenues and developmental spending to foreign reserves suffering as a result. The need for diversification and value-addition to minerals across Africa was outlined in the Africa Mining Vision (AMV), adopted by African Heads of State in 2009, which envisioned minerals playing a central role in spurring inclusive growth and value addition, as a strong precursor to the SDGs and AU Agenda 2063. The AMDC and African Union Commission have in ensuing years been assisting African countries onboard this framework. Dr. Hamdok stressed that the policy makers, experts and other stakeholders present at this roundtable are responsible for ensuring Africa’s mineral sector goes beyond its boom-and-bust business as usual, in order to anchor stable job creation and inclusive growth. He welcomed the Chilean participants to shed light on their successes in this regard, as well as their challenges in persisting primary commodity dependence. He also invited the African delegations to share their experiences in mineral-based industrialization in order to identify policy gaps and areas for South-South learning and cooperation from the Chilean delegation. He closed by expressing his hopes that a strong partnership between African countries and Chile – through joint ventures, skills and knowledge sharing, finance and other areas – could be cemented during these two days. Mr. Jaime Chomali, Ambassador of the Republic of Chile to Ethiopia, echoed the welcome and appreciation provided by Dr. Hamdok, with special thanks to the Chilean guests who had traveled
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Hon. John Peter Amewu
great distances to share their experiences with their African counterparts. He noted the importance of copper production for Chile’s economy, and that Chile was eager to share its experience in this sector in order to assist African countries in reaching the AMV. This meeting stems from a priority assigned by President Michelle Bachelet and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile to promote South-South cooperation. The Ambassador closed by wishing the participants a productive meeting. Hon. John Peter Amewu, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources of the Republic of Ghana, reiterated his appreciation for the efforts in the organization of this meeting. He noted that Ghana is ready and prepared to learn from Chile in utilizing minerals to trigger economic development. This issue is particularly important for Ghana because after decades of mining, the country is still only an emerging player in extractive industries. Mineral-dependent countries need to share lessons and advice on adding value and diversifying. He particularly highlighted the lack of adequate supplier development programmes to maximize potential economic linkages stemming from mining. In Ghana, small-scale gold producers are a significant player in national gold production, and are thus vital to the country’s development agenda. Chile has been able to successfully deal with some of these issues, and Ghana hopes to build a stronger bilateral relationship with Chile. He concluded by noting that adequately addressing the needs of the mineral sector within a framework of good governance can help African countries build towards sustainable development, and inclusive social and economic transformation.
“We are interested in sharing experiences that would help Africa achieve the goals of its AMV. We hope this is the beginning of a long standing, beneficial cooperation.” ~ Mr. Jaime Chomali Ambassador of the Republic of Chile to Ethiopia
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SETTING THE SCENE-LEARNING FROM CHILE In the context of the Africa Mining Vision
Dr. Kojo Busia, Acting Coordinator of the AMDC, provided the first substantive presentation on setting the scene for the round table’s discussions and deliberations. Dr. Busia expanded on the introduction to the AMV provided in Dr. Hamdok’s opening remarks, noting that it represents a fundamental shift as the only African-owned transformative framework on minerals which moves beyond rent maximization. In this context, the importance of mineral-based value addition is clear, as African countries have thus far not unlocked opportunities in upstream and downstream linkages to their mineral endowments and production. Indeed, while much of the value in Africa’s mineral sector is tied up in foreign direct investment (FDI) and mineral exports, national income and jobs are a much smaller proportion. And yet there are significant untapped opportunities along the mineral value chain. Regarding Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM), the AMV calls for a triangular support to these actors, including extensions services, finance and credit, and marketing quality, in order to particularly assist women in ASM and other vulnerable groups and contentious issues. The AMDC was established as implementing agent for the AMV, and it pursues this by – amongst a variety of demand-driven activities in over half of African member States – assisting countries in formulating Country Mining Visions. AMDC conducts specific activities along seven workstreams, which mirror the pillars of the AMV. regarding the areas in which Chile has excelled, these include identifying opportunities for upstream linkages, identifying and addressing illicit financial flows, researching on the role of Regional Value Chains, and providing an institutional support framework for ASM, amongst others. Dr. Busia then outlined the reasons for focusing on Chile during this roundtable, including: the strong institutional environment governing natural resources; its development of other high-income sectors in parallel with copper and namely high-value mining related services; its strategic use of policy and incentives; its support to small-scale miners through ENAMI and other organizations; and the similar constraints facing Africa and Chile regar-
ding commodity dependence, energy cost, supply limitations and so forth. Dr. Busia closed by establishing a number of questions for discussion, guiding participants on a number of issues for which this meeting seeks to formulate tangible ways forward for African member States and in partnership with Chile.
MINING IN CHILE
Governance, institutions, successes and challenges Mr. Eduardo Jiménez, Evaluation Investment Director at the Chilean Copper Commission (COCHILCO), provided a detailed presentation on the institutional environment governing the copper industry in Chile, its history, an overview of mineral resources and production, suppliers, challenges and the way forward. The entirety of his presentation can be found in Annex I. Mr. Jimenez illustrated that Chile’s stable institutional and political systems, infrastructure, tax policies and other traits have made the country attractive to mining investment. 52% of FDI to Chile went to mining in 2016. The government has a clear structure of institutions and responsibilities regarding mineral governance, with the Mining Ministry overseeing State-owned companies CODELCO and ENAMI, and state-run institutions COCHILCO and SERNAGEOMIN, which each have distinct yet complementary missions and functions. These have been drivers of mineral-based development in Chile. Copper’s importance to the economy has remained high although fluctuating. The country holds 29.2% of global copper reserves (more than anywhere else). As of 2016 copper exports accounted for 46% of total exports, with mining-related income tax contributing an average of 17% of fiscal revenues between 2006-2016, during which time mining accounted for an average of 9.6% of GDP. There are a number of strategic inputs to mining, and there are areas and activities which have expanded significantly in domestic provision. A Public-Private National Suppliers Development Programme has been launched by the Ministry of Mining and CORFO, to promote local mine suppliers and position Chile as a world-class mining provider. Chile has supplemented its economic successes with regulations to address environmental protection, indigenous groups, mine closure and smelter emissions. Areas with less relative competitiveness in Chile regarding the mining sector and investment environment include infrastructure, regional trade, high cost of energy, water scarcity in mining areas, declining grades of ores and increa-
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sing costs of accessing ores. Furthermore, there has been stagnant and even declining productivity, complexity in permit approval given environmental issues. Going forward, COCHILCO aims for future progress in suppliers development, exporting services and supplies, and eventually more research and development. High-tech services are thus the long-term goal.
feasible State-owned mining companies in the 1990s, but Chile has been able to succeed with an innovative system.
Discussion from the floor noted that it is important to learn from Chile’s successes in diversification. Chile and Africa face similar constraints, particularly regarding the environment, provision of utilities and so forth, as noted in the case of Ghana. Yet it should be noted that the level of infrastructure in Chile and Africa is quite different, and poor infrastructure prevents maximizing revenue possibilities from minerals, whether in their raw form or in promoting value-addition. For example, iron ore deposits in Guinea are at high altitudes, and strategies are needed for each such terrain and to reduce costs in extraction under such conditions. The ownership and financing structure of infrastructure investments and how this led to successes in Chile is important to discern, with the private sector playing a key role. Investments in renewable energy have helped address energy constraints in Chile, and the Government is looking to connect different energy systems in the mining, farming and urban areas. CODELCO is examining the possibility for desalination projects to overcome water scarcity, and the importance of involving and costing for environmental and community impact in initial projects was stressed.
Mr. Ricardo Reyes, Supply Chain Corporate Manager for CODELCO, outlined the background of the copper sector, role and activities of CODELCO and the state of the mineral supply chain and productivity in Chile. While copper dominates the mining industry, other mineral activities exist including lithium. CODELCO was established in 1976 and accounts for nine per cent of global copper production. Just over one-quarter of staff under the auspices of CODELCO are employed directly, with the rest external staff of third-party specialized companies.
Specific areas for learning from Chile include in Guinea’s aims to diversify away from bauxite and gold reserves. Due to concentration, price fluctuations have particularly harmed Guinea. ASM is another important issue in Africa which can take lessons from Chile, and indeed some measures have been taken such as limiting washing of minerals in waterways in Guinea. The private sector nature of the national mining company provides an interesting lesson as most African countries dispensed un-
MINERAL LINKAGES A N D S U P P LY C H A I N S In Chile
Key for CODELCO’s future will be balance sheet strength, productivity, strong mining plans, capital investment programmes, investing in R&D and a focus on sustainability. Regarding productivity improvement, a roadmap plans for specific initiatives in 2017-18 and permanent productivity practices cemented in 2019-20, adding 20% to productivity. This improvement will come across a plethora of practices, activities and areas. Copper production will face increasing challenges of higher-cost extraction, decreasing ore grade, low productivity and limited access to utilities which may prevent the meeting of rising global demand for copper. Initiatives such as the Supplier Development Programme aim to improve the offer of goods and services to meet the demands of the sector, with focus on developing new capacities for a select group of suppliers. At present, while 98% of services are sourced domestically (up from 80% five years ago, although these are not necessarily Chilean owned), only 18% of goods are, with imports largely from the United States, Germany, China and elsewhere. To help enhance domestic production, CODELCO’s approach to supplier development includes identifying, selecting, developing and optimizing local supplier capabilities. This included segmenting different classifications of suppliers along a
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number of dimensions, identifying weaknesses and identifying opportunities to support and enhance suppliers. There are opportunities to do so through both direct CODELCO support, and indirect support. CODELCO’s next steps are to continue to embed this programme and drive towards efficiency, effectiveness and low costs in the sector.
spur other business and SME activity, their significant human capital and skills, and their ability to exploit small deposits. ENAMI thus participates in the full business cycle for small miners in order to correct for financial, technical and commercial deficiencies, including in all steps of exploration, preparation, exploitation, environment and safety, processing and commercialization. It provides direct studies, technical information and advice, competitive capacity building, funds, credits, marketing, Discussion from the floor noted that the future market tools and other support. supplier development initiative and other mechanisms of CODELCO as an institution Support to medium producers allows them comand services it provides are quite well deve- mercial access in a manner similar to large produloped with positive benefits for the sector. cers, and allow the securing of a fixed price or segCODELCO seems to provide support to both ment of future prices. Credit allows for investment foreign and domestic supplier firms. Thus it in productive and capital-intensive capacities. Coacts to some extent as player in the market, pper output then has access to processing, benefiregulator, government promotion agency and ciation and casting. in other central roles. It was noted that CODELCO interacts with domestic and foreign firms, for example serving on the mining council with BHP Billiton. It aims to provide support to domestic suppliers in particular, in order to enhance their ability to compete. CODELCO has narrowed down its initiatives from over 100 to fewer than 30, in order to focus on effective interventions. CODELCO does not rule out investing abroad given its expertise and financial capabilities.
ENAMI AND ITS ROLE AS PROMOTION
For the small and medium mining sector
Mr. Iván Fortin, Commercial Director for ENAMI, presented on small and medium scale mining in Chile, and support provided to these miners through a variety of mechanisms by ENAMI. Indeed, of the institutions in mining in Chile, ENAMI has for more than 57 years promoted and developed the small-scale sector, defined as producers of less than 10,000 dmt ores monthly, providing needed but lacking market access as well as assistance and tools. Medium producers are also supported. ENAMI buys ores directly from producers of less than 2,000 dmt, and purchases with contract from producers of more than 2,000. These purchases are made at regulated and guaranteed rates to remove uncertainty from these miners, acting as a cushion when global prices fall which can be recovered as a credit once market prices rebound. ENAMI operates under Decree 76 for economic development Northern Chile, including through small and medium mining. ENAMI recognizes the importance of small miners given the social and income conditions of their communities, their ability to
“Africa has suffered from dependency on one commodity, which has made the continent vulnerable to external shocks, despite the recent commodity boom. “It would be beneficial for instance to learn from Chile how it has brought value add to its minerals sector despite it also being a commoditydependent country.” ~ Dr. Abdalla Hamdok, Acting Secretary, UNECA
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Through direct and indirect impacts, ENAMI has a cumulative positive effect on the economy of nearly $40 billion and over 18,000 jobs, with over 67,000 people benefitting from ENAMI’s work. Every monetary unit produced by ENAMI leads to 1.48 monetary units generated in the economy, and each direct ENAMI job generates 15 jobs across the economy. Discussion from the floor revealed the central role as to how the Ministry of Mines through ENAMI shoulders the onus of supporting artisanal and small scale miners, from exploration within zones that are dedicated to and have been explored for viability of ASM operations, to being mandated to buy the output of ASM players. ENAMI harbours the exploration costs on behalf of ASM players after having assessed the viability of small scale operations within the ASM designated area(s). As ENAMI is the mandated buyer of ASM production, it remains a critical player in the market linkages for ASM producers with the incentive of making sure that transportation costs for freighting of product are always going to be subsidized up to 25%, meaning that ASM players only pay 75% of what they would have paid for transportation/freighting of products had they decided to find markets on their own. Also highlighted within the discussions was the sanctity of property and land tenure rights within Chile that ensured an efficiently regulated relationship between large scale mining (LSM) concessions and ASM. The Government of Chile remains the sole buyer of ore and to be an eligible seller one must possess proof of concession rights if they are medium to small scale miners. In terms of financial support in dollar figures, there is a total of between 5 and 6 million per year dedicated for exploration and accidentals with 2 million of that amount specifically earmarked for artisanal miners. A very interesting revelation on the gender dimension of ASM in Chile is that the figures of women involved in ASM are negligible and too small to even be tracked though policies of women in mining. ENAMI has extended an open invitation to demonstrate the way their operations are undertaken within Chile and are looking forward to delegations coming from countries that want to go deeper in South-South cooperation channeled through AMDC’s coordination efforts.
MINERAL BASED DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA Country perspectives and challenges
Given the presentations on the case of Chile and the ensuing discussion, African country delegations shared detail on the history of mineral-based development, efforts at diversification, linkages, support to ASM, as well as challenges and future plans. Saadou Nimaga, Permanent Secretary of the Republic of Guinea, presented that Guinea has a long history in mining and rich endowments of bauxite, iron ore and other materials. Investment divides in the past were split with the State receiving a 49% share and foreign partners receiving 51%. Then mining codes were enacted under the Second Republic and in 2011. This looked to also address issues of corruption, environmental impact, safety measures and other aspects of mining. Infrastructure has been recognized as the key constraint to production – for example, bauxite endowments in the more mountainous North West are difficult to access. Possibilities for infrastructure corridors are being examined in consultation with the World Bank, and these will need financing and inputs from firms. The infrastructure would cover not just mining but other sectors as well. The government has an energy policy for hydroelectricity which will eventually help process bauxite and iron ore and with aluminum smelting. Administration practices also need to be improved across the country. Different tax regimes have been examined which could entice investment, to complement the current tax instruments ranging from income to mining to production and export taxes, and land taxes to benefit the local community, with specific taxes for specific minerals (i.e. bauxite and iron). Local content tools have also been identified. Certain zones of the country also have certain incentives. Guinea now looks to establish stable relationships with companies, including through levies charged. More thorough mapping exercises have been undertaken, and a compendium is being consolidated on national mining policy, based on stakeholder engagement, including means to speed-up registration.
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Jerry Ahadjie, Assistant Manager for Sectoral Policy and Planning with the Ghana Minerals Commission, noted that Ghana has been an attractive destination due to abundant mineral resources, a stable government, and the highest ranked ease of doing business in West Africa. Ghana is the second largest gold producer in Africa, with the sector employing 22,000 workers in large-scale mining and one million in small scale. Institutionally, responsibility falls with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, which oversees the Minerals Commission, Geological Survey Authority and Precious Minerals Marketing Company. The Commission’s mandate is to regulate and manage resources, coordinate policies, and monitor compliance with agreements. The PMMC purchases these minerals from small-scale producers, and the government also facilitates private gold purchasers to go through laboratory processes, determine purity and purchases through the PMMC. Unlike Chile, there is no longer a large state mining company, though the State has 10% participation in the sector. Ghana is monitoring implementation of its initiatives on the ground, for example through a task force involving the revenue authority, ministry of finance and others which engages in pilot audits examining possibilities for IFFs and transfer mispricing. Policy initiatives are looking at integrating mining with the rest of the economy and diversifying into other minerals, and Ghana wishes to learn from Chile on this. The government wants to promote a win-win for investors and the State. 19 items have been identified for local procurement in mining, although this does not reflect local manufacturing with some exceptions (electrical cables, PVC pipes, and explosive components). While Ghana’s mining cadaster system has suffered from inefficiencies, with support from Australia it is supporting a remote, computerized system, which should be ready for implementation by the end of the year. ASM is a major issue Ghana has been grappling with, but there are persisting challenges such as access to finance and geological information. Infrastructure is improving and PPPs are envisioned, particularly in rail. Almaz Belayneh, Advisor to the Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas of Ethiopia, acknowledged that while Ethiopia may not have a mining-based economy, it is aggressively entering the sector, looking to be competitive and learn from other countries across Africa as well as from Canada and others. The country has a diverse range of metallic and precious metals, petroleum and natural gas. The Ministry of Mines, Ethiopian Geological Survey, and Regional Administrations have authority in this sector.
Their goal is to provide regulations, mapping coverage, and assistance to small-scale miners. There is one large-scale gold mining company, and more than one million artisanal miners, the majority of whom are women, who are issues special mining licenses. Challenges include access to geological information, finance and issues of transparency. Ethiopia is aiming to progress towards the AMV. Dr. Kessela Tadesse, Director for Petroleum Licensing and Administration, added that the Ministry addresses both the minerals and petroleum sectors, with capacity building assistance from Canada and Australia. Investors and foreign actors in the sector can access both local and foreign currency accounts. Ms. Linda Chipuma Mbangweta of the Embassy of the Republic of Zambia made a presentation on Zambia’s role as the second largest copper producer in Africa. The sector was previously dominated by the State but since the 2000s has been looking for private investments. The country is now seeking greater developmental benefits, participation – particularly by ASM, and value chain development from mining. For comparison, in the 1970s both Zambia and Chile produced similar amounts of copper, but whereas Chile has increased this significantly, Zambia has not.
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WRAP -UP
and Way Forward Following the presentations and discussions, the participants recapped their deliberations in order to identify key messages for learning from the case of Chile, and to decide on concrete areas to follow-up and deepen South-South cooperation between Africa and Chile.
Indeed, while large-scale infrastructure investments typically require State-level coordination in the context of Africa, such private sector involvement is growing and will be important to link mineral infrastructure with other needs.
Policy lessons and opportunities for learning from Chile
Value-addition
Institutional Arrangements The government can play an important role in promoting and coordinating investment in productive mineral-based activities. Chile provides an example of the State playing a central role in mineral resource governance, but also as a convener of private sector participation which is critical to the success of the sector. While CODELCO is State-run, policy focuses on a few key initiatives and tackles only strategic areas. Institutionally, stronger collaboration across related ministries is necessary in order to coordinate such activities. Other strategic and cross-cutting issues such as IFFs and infrastructure should be addressed by this cross-ministry collaboration. Strong political will originating at the apex level of the executive branch is necessary to cement this cooperation. African countries should examine optimal institutional arrangements for this, and what roles should be afforded to other stakeholders.
Experience with strategic planning, government oversight and private financing of infrastructure Countries need significant infrastructure networks in order to access, extract, process and export mineral resources. Plans for infrastructure should be strategic and devised at a level above the mineral sector, as infrastructure corridors can service other sectors such as agriculture and benefit from sidestream linkages with new productive activities. Infrastructure must harness new opportunities in renewable energy, private investment schemes and development cooperation with new external partners. Chile is a case to emulate in pursuing concessions in ports, roads and other infrastructure with private investment, particularly for the mineral sector. CORFO is set to incentivize investment in infrastructure.
The need to process and add value to raw mineral production, and to link mining with more productive activities in order to shift away from the typical boom-bust commodity cycle, is a policy priority for African countries and a central tenet of the AMV. In Chile, promoting the investment environment for higher value activities was key – investment promotion was not needed for raw extraction as this was by its nature attractive to investors. African countries should look at the sort of upstream successes Chile has had – in business support services, logistics, light manufacturing and other areas that are relatively low-hanging fruit. In examining specific instruments such as local content laws, the difference between locally sourced and locally produced must be noted and addressed in order to promote true value creation. Chile’s success in local sourcing indicates potential in shifting to local suppliers. Countries need to examine what sort of sectoral and macro-economic policies have been attempted in the past and how these can be harmonized with the trade, industrial and other policy landscape.
Artisanal and small-scale mining ASM is an important sector for Africa given the opportunities it provides to rural and informal workers, and thus its centrality in goals for inclusion, local and sustainable development.
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There is much to learn from the buying mechanism of ENAMI, and the support it provides to small miners. But countries must also set the surrounding institutional environment needed for such a scheme to take hold and succeed. The environmental impact of ASM needs to be addressed with the “carrot rather than the stick” in order to incentivize compliance. ENAMI’s approach of deliberately incentivising operations to be viable at the small scale level even whilst supporting artisanal miners, demonstrates a method that African member States may look at as model of addressing challenges related to the Artisanal element of ASM within the continent. The supported graduation from ASM through subsidies for exploration of areas that would be best exploited via small scale rather than artisanal mining means that similar policy incentives, if carefully adopted whilst adhering to the tenets of overcoming challenges of ASM, may help ASM countries reap similar benefits as those in Chile.
Challenges and realistic expectations Amidst the positive messages from the case of Chile for Africa, a few underlying factors and remaining challenges must be noted. Before such mineral-based transformation and value-addition could succeed, Chile did have an existing if small industrial base, services sector, educated workforce, and physical infrastructure, amongst other endowments. Thus there are background factors to be addressed by African countries which are necessary for linkages in the mineral value chain. Further, despite controlling one-third of global copper production, Chile does not engage in significant downstream beneficiation and processing – China has already captured the efficient means to do so. Thus African countries should examine the feasibility of beneficiation – with its high costs, energy and technical requirements – vis-à-vis opportunities in upstream value addition. Challenges have continued in Chile such as high energy costs, infrastructure limitations and stagnant productivity, which are similar to that encountered in Africa, indicating success is possible despite such constraints.
Areas for concrete cooperation with Chile and AMDC as requested by African Member States Following these substantive discussions, AMDC noted that South-South and peer learning is an oft discussed tool for development, and that while Chile is an OECD member, it is not a traditional “donor” country, and in fact provides a different and needed perspective in mining than those of Canada, Australia and other partners.
There is much opportunity for peer-to-peer learning and cooperation between Chile and Africa, and between African countries. This also provides an opportunity for Chile to pursue trade agreements and other mutually beneficial pursuits with Africa. As Chile turns to export mining services abroad, this should be encouraged with Africa. Chilean firms are not very active in Africa, with a lack of information on opportunities in general and specific projects being a key constraint. This can be overcome for example through joint ventures. Chile can also learn from Africa in pursuing these partnerships. Guinea noted there are peer learning opportunities as exemplified by this workshop to learn both from other African countries and Chile. Guinea seeks to gain more from Chile’s experiences in supporting local suppliers. It wishes to interact with ENAMI to learn but also to share Guinea’s experiences with small miners. The Guinean delegation indicated it will be in contact to devise concrete activities together with Chile. Ghana indicated its commitment to learn from Chile, particularly regarding the Supplier Development Programme. It wishes to deepen its work with AMDC on designing and implementing an SDP for Ghana and for West Africa as well. Further, Ghana seeks collaboration: with ENAMI on its model, particularly incentives for medium-scale companies; to learn from supply-chain development, particularly in moving from country-level to regional-level; in infrastructure development i.e. water supply; on state participation in mineral extraction; and finally in developing Sovereign Wealth Funds. Ethiopia wishes to share its ASM experiences with others, while also finding solutions to problems that it continues to encounter in this sector. It also looks to improve the status of local suppliers, and learn how to overcome infrastructure issues. Zambia wants to learn from Chile on how to promote copper supply chain development and what challenges were faced in this. It will be important to gain from Chile’s management and financing of ASM, and its coexistence with LSM. Zambia noted that the AMV can provide a good guidance for this as well. In response to these requests, the Chilean Embassy concurred that Africa can count on Chile to continue to collaborate on the mining sector – particularly regarding supply chains and ASM – and also on other issues such as trade and investment. CODELCO, ENAMI and COCHILCO indicated their eagerness to cooperate in the future, including hosting delegations, examining joint strategies, engaging in trainings, capacity buildings, and other initiatives.