In a ceremony headed by the Minister of Mining, Aurora Williams; the president of the Expomin International Congress and CEO of Anglo American Chile, Patricio Hidalgo; and the executive director of Expomin, Francisco Sotomayor, the XVIII version of Expomin, the most important mining fair and congress in Latin America and one of the most important worldwide, was officially inaugurated. The exhibition will run from Tuesday, April 22nd to Saturday, April 26th at Espacio Riesco and will bring together more than 1,370 exhibiting companies, 35% of which are from abroad, representing 35 countries. The event will cover an area of more than 100,000 square meters and is expected to receive more than 70,000 professional visitors, including 8,000 international delegates, which confirms the global and strategic nature of Expomin for the mining industry. During her speech, the Minister of Mining, Aurora Williams, underscored the role that Expomin plays in the international projection of Chile as a mining country. “Expomin is a milestone that as a country fills us with pride, as it not only places us as the epicenter of world mining, but also confirms with concrete facts how Chile consolidates its leadership among the most influential industrial mining districts,” she said. The authority also highlighted the call made by this fair to think of a new mining from Latin America: “Chile has a fundamental role in this mining of the future, where we can be responsible suppliers of critical minerals, key to the global energy transition”. In this context, the Minister announced a relevant advance in the National Lithium Strategy. “Today I have signed the resolution that allows to move forward with simplified procedures for the exploration and exploitation of lithium in three salt flats located in the regions of Tarapacá, Antofagasta and Atacama. This is one of three pieces of good news that are on their way to continue building, among all of us, a sustainable, equitable and inclusive industry,” she said. International Congress and vision for the future The Expomin International Congress, which will run parallel to the fair with more than 120 technical talks and thematic panels, will address the major transformations facing the industry, with a focus on sustainability, innovation, digitalization and energy transition. Patricio Hidalgo, CEO of Anglo American Chile and of the Expomin Congress, valued the quality and diversity of the program’s content: “We set ambitious goals for this Congress: to convene top-level experts to reflect on the megatrends that will mark the course of the industry, to open the fair to the communities and to get the new generations excited about mining. All this has been achieved thanks to the coordinated and collaborative work of multiple public and private actors,” he said. Among the international guests, the presence of global expert in artificial intelligence Zack Kass, former Director of Market Strategy at OpenAI, stands out. He will be part of the program on Wednesday, April 23, a day that will also include the participation of the Minister of Finance, Mario Marcel, who will address the investment challenges for Chile. Expomin 2025: carbon neutral fair For the first time in its history, Expomin will be certified as a carbon neutral event, reaffirming its commitment to environmental sustainability. Thanks to an agreement with the company Colbún, the carbon footprint generated by the fair has been measured and compensated, from production to logistics, including the transportation of visitors and delegations. “Being a carbon neutral event marks a before and after for Expomin. This is a concrete step in our goal of being a platform consistent with the challenges faced by the industry, especially in terms of climate change,” explained Francisco Sotomayor, executive director of Expomin. In addition, this year the fair has a renewed Innovation Zone, where startups, universities and R&D centers present technological solutions aimed at more efficient, safe and responsible mining.