Juan Ignacio Díaz, president of the International Copper Association, played a key role in US negotiations to exempt Chilean copper cathodes from tariffs. At a Siemens seminar, he stressed the need to speed up environmental permits in Chile to meet the 50 million tons copper production goal by 2050. He advocated for public-private partnerships to boost the mining sector.
Juan Ignacio Díaz, a Chilean and president and CEO of the International Copper Association (ICA), which groups mining giants like Codelco, BHP, Freeport-McMoran, Antofagasta Minerals, Teck, Rio Tinto, and Anglo American, was instrumental in negotiations with the United States. Alongside Chancellor Alberto van Klaveren and guilds like Sonami and Consejo Minero, he presented technical arguments showing that Chilean copper is not a threat, successfully exempting copper cathodes from tariff rates.
At the Siemens seminar 'visión 360° de la innovación a la acción', Díaz discussed global copper production challenges. According to Cochilco, worldwide production in 2024 was 22 million tons, while Chile aims for 50 million by 2050, requiring the equivalent of one Escondida mine (BHP's, producing 1.2 million tons last year) per year. 'We need to keep increasing copper production... I would like Chile to wake up and be part of those additional 25 million tons', Díaz stated.
To achieve this, he proposed public-private partnerships. 'Alliances, on one hand, involve the State contributing a regulatory framework, territorial planning, social legitimacy, and long-term stability', while the private sector provides investment, innovation, and execution. On environmental permits, he praised Chile's regulatory framework, superior to neighbors in stability and development indices. However, he urged speeding up timelines: 'Put all the requirements you want, but quickly'. He concluded that 'the regulatory framework is asleep... We need execution'.