Knowledge Intensive Mining Services in Chile: Challenges and Opportunities for Future Development

The Chilean mining industry is currently facing a set of challenges that need to be addressed for it to remain competitive in the global economy. These are related to a more efficient use of basic resources, such as water and energy (due to increasing costs); better treatment of waste; the need to drill deeper to get to new deposits; lower ore grades; among other challenges. Given the tendency toward vertical disintegration and the high operational costs the industry is currently facing, the leading mining firms are not expected to internally provide innovative solutions addressing these challenges. This opens up new opportunities for local suppliers. The question is if local suppliers have the ability to exploit these opportunities. This study aims at understanding the factors and drivers that enable the development of local innovative suppliers to the Chilean mining industry, in particular those with the potential to positively impact performance through the provision of upgraded and/or knowledge intensive services.