How did the events of 2023 impact operations at Metaproject?

In 2023 the world was plagued with financial uncertainty, war, and, in Chile, there was much political instability and a reduction in investment. From the point of engineering, demand was reduced.

MetaProject implemented its new business model, that is, our clients knock on a single door and find all the solutions to their engineering problems.

Chile as a country did not offer great opportunities in 2023, so we looked abroad. We are forming an alliance between Chile and Peru, as Peru is a country that embraces mining. We also see Venezuela’s rich mineral endowments as an opportunity.

What challenges is the Chilean mining industry currently facing?

Investors seek to invest in countries that give guarantees to their money, and Chile is losing business confidence due to innumerable tax and labor reforms, among others.

A lot of this has to do with recent tax reformations and the labor reform. To be the world’s main producer of copper, the level of investment is comparatively low. Production rates are decreasing, and they will continue to do so. Chile is close to US$24,000 per capita; it is almost a developed country. Due to political instability, we have not reached that point. Mining has the potential to change that; it is between 10-15% of Chile’s GDP and brought million Chileans out of poverty.

How can Chile attract new investments and projects?

First, the country needs to perform a geological satellite exploration of every region to understand what minerals each one can offer. This will allow us to have a country level masterplan. The south is underexplored. However, what is the use of being rich in the subsoil and poor on the surface? Bolivia, for example, has one of the biggest lithium deposits in the world, but also immense poverty because it has not been exploited.

Secondly, Chile needs tax rules. Currently, the only way mining is approached financially is to increase taxes, which goes against growth. If there is no financial growth, mining cannot grow.

Finally, Chile must industrialize its mineral wealth and give tax benefits to manufacturing companies that come to the country. Latin America possesses the most important raw materials in the world, but the countries sell it as raw material, not as a finished product. Selling the raw material creates employment for those who buy it, not those who sell it. Although selling raw material generates cash, revenue is lost in comparison to selling the processed product. This is not only a problem in Chile, but all Latin America.

Can you discuss planetary mining and the philosophy behind it?

In 2019, the United Nations reported that by 2050 many of the so-called critical minerals will run out due to the high demand and consumption. There are two alternatives to feed the growing electromobility industry and combat climate change: exploit minerals from the seabed, which would be suicide, or look into space and exploit asteroids or minerals on the moon and Mars. Here is where the so-called Planetary Mining is born, or Astromining. However, humans have already handled the ocean irresponsibly. Over one-third of marine mammals are threatened by extinction, and much of the ocean is polluted. To explore in the oceans, we would have to pollute the ocean more than we already have.

The foundational principle behind planetary mining is unrestricted respect for nature and the beings that live on Earth. Much of the damage humanity has done on earth is irreversible. We want to prevent creating a hecatomb. The earth is a home we have not cared for.

I helped found the Chilean Institute of Astromining to ensure our country is a pioneer in space mining. In Chile, we have the most important astronomical observatory in the world and the Atacama Desert is a natural experimental laboratory with its surface similar the moon and Mars.

What are Metaproject’s objectives for 2024?

We want to create a Chile-Peru mining alliance to take advantage of synergies and internationalize Metaproject. We are working with India, Turkey, Ukraine, and Canada to make this a reality. Metaproject is an engineering and innovation company. We aim to be the best mining and multidisciplinary engineering company in Latin America