Ex-BHP Executive to Become Minister as Chile Seeks Copper Boost

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A former BHP Group executive will be Chile’s next mining minister and will be responsible for efforts to expand copper and lithium production in the country, which has the world’s largest reserves of both metals.

Santiago Montt has resigned as CEO of Los Andes Copper Ltd. and joined President-elect José Antonio Kast’s cabinet, the Vancouver-based junior miner said Tuesday.

Mining companies believe Kast’s pro-business agenda will help accelerate projects after declining ore grades have left copper production largely flat over the past two decades. Montt offers first-hand experience of Chile’s permitting challenges. In Los Andes Copper, Vizcachitas tried to move forward with his project despite opposition from local communities concerned about environmental impacts.

“The next minister faces the critical task of accelerating a significant backlog of $105 billion in mining investments, while simultaneously revising and amending upcoming reforms to the permitting framework and environmental assessment processes,” said Cesar Perez-Novoa, an analyst at BTG Pactual in Santiago.

Before working at Los Andes Copper, Montt led the corporate affairs of BHP Minerals Americas for more than a decade. He holds a juris doctorate from Yale University and a master’s degree in political science from Princeton University.

Kast will replace Aurora Williams when she is sworn in on March 11. The president-elect is scheduled to present his entire cabinet at a ceremony on Tuesday evening.

Montt will stay at Los Andes Copper until February 19. He will be replaced on an interim basis by Chief Geologist Antony Amberg.

–With help from Carolina Gonzalez.

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