Copiapó was once again the scene of the 4th session of the Regional Mining Governance Table of the Tantay Atacama Program. This initiative, organized by the Federico Santa María Technical University, through its 3IE Institute in collaboration with Widegroup, and with the support of the innovation fund for regional competitiveness of the Regional Government of Atacama, had as its main objective to continue and strengthen the work collaborative initiated in previous sessions.
During the day, crucial issues for the future of mining in Atacama were addressed, highlighting the promotion of collaborative initiatives. In this regard, the Regional Governor of Atacama, Miguel Vargas, pointed out that, “everything has the objective of moving the region forward, because the region needs to be competitive in all its areas and we want to contribute to that as a Regional Government.”
“Obviously, for us to do better, we have to strengthen collaboration networks that are very important and if we are here in the 4th Tantay Governance it is because there is a desire to commit to working in a coordinated manner. “We have always said that we do better when we work together,” Vargas added.
The progress in the challenges of Compañía Minera del Pacífico (CMP) was also reported, highlighting that three solution providers are close to starting their innovation pilots.
The head of Process Verification at CMP, María José Vera, clarified that “Tantay came to us approximately a year ago and it has been a very enriching experience for the Company.”
“Not only from the aspect of social responsibility, but also because through this alliance we were able to open our doors so that startups can enter our operations and pilot their technological solutions. “We are happy to be able to collaborate, participate in these instances and accelerate the Company’s processes,” he indicated.
In addition, during the day, Empresa Nacional de Minería (Enami) was formally welcomed as a new strategic partner of the Tantay Atacama Program. In order to be able to present their own innovation challenges, entrepreneurs, supplier companies, higher education institutions and research centers were invited to participate through Tantay.
As indicated by Enami’s general plant superintendent, Juan Carlos Espinoza, “we are a company that serves small and medium-sized mining companies. In that sense, to the extent that we can be in contact with new technology and new solutions for the treatment of our processes, we can transfer it to those who offer our services. By joining forces we can have good results.”
Each segment of the event was designed to foster dialogue and cooperation between the different actors in the sector. Among the special guests was the representative of Eleva-Fundación Chile, who presented the “Program to Improve Technical and Professional Training for Mining 4.0 in the Atacama Region”, aimed at adapting technical training to the needs of modern mining.
The Alta Ley Corporation presented on “The roadmap for small and medium mining”, focused on identifying the main gaps and prioritizing technological innovation efforts. He Integrated Center for Piloting of Mining Technologies (Ciptemin) presented one of the collaborative projects that emerged in the previous session, and Corfo Atacama announced the competitive funds available to promote new initiatives.
Andrés Castillo, executive director of Tantay Atacama and general manager of the 3IE Institute, highlighted that “it has been a difficult job, to be honest, because we are an actor that comes from outside the region, however, as we have progressed, We are already in the fourth session, we have been positioning ourselves with the actors in the region. “We are already announcing the incorporation of new companies that are going to launch their own innovation challenges, in addition to other projects that we call “collaborative initiatives” to generate a real impact in the region.”
He Tantay Atacama Program It is reaffirmed as an essential platform for the articulation and development of innovation initiatives in regional mining. The 4th session of the Regional Mining Governance Roundtable not only strengthened the progress achieved, but also opened new opportunities for cooperation, marking significant progress towards a more prosperous and technologically advanced future for the Atacama region.
