Organizers of a November trade mission to South America intend to build a “trade bridge” between the mining sectors of Northern Ontario and Chile.
About 30 mining supply companies and economic development officials from northeastern Ontario participated in the business-to-business matchmaking exercise to Chile’s Exponor 2003 in late November, one of the biggest mining trade shows in South America.
Antofagasta, a mining region in the mountainous northern part of Chile, produces 35 per cent of the world’s copper and is considered one of the top three mining jurisdictions in the world. Estimates for the next two years place the demand for mining equipment and services expenditures in the region in the area of $5 billion (US).
