The leader of the Chilean mining association Consejo Minero has claimed that he has seen no evidence that the unrest that has wracked Chile since October may reduce investment into the country's important mining sector, which accounts for around of a third of global lithium supplies.
The organization's executive president Joaqu?-n Villarino told influential Chilean radio show, PAUTA y Bloomberg, a joint venture between the international financial data service and a national Chilean radio station: "I have not heard anyone so far say I will not invest more in Chile." That said, he accepted that the unrest had surprised international business, especially given Chile has been regarded as politically stable, attractive for long-term investments.Commenting on the direct impact of the protests on the Chilean mining sector, Villarino, speaking on Friday November 22, said that it had escaped the brunt "given that we do not have our sites in the middle of the city, but that we are distant from them, we have suffered less than what the rest of the country has suffered". The lithium sector did not escape unscathed - the Atacama Indigenous Council launched a temporary road blockade last month of facilities operated by...