Resumen de Latin America - is regulation clearing a path?
Faith is still there, however. In August this year the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs' special envoy for natural resources, Prince Jaime de Bourbon Parme, signed a declaration of intent on behalf of the Netherlands in Bolivia. This declaration spelled out a partnership which will see the Netherlands share its knowledge and expertise with Bolivia on exploiting and using its large deposits of lithium. How, or when, or what this will entail, however, remains to be seen.
"In Chile, the mining industry is by far the most important sector of the economy, representing an average 14.7% of GDP between 2003 and 2012; in the same period, mining exports reached an average of $36bn," mining lawyer Jer--nimo Carcelen, wrote recently in Latin Lawyer.
In terms of its energy problem, Chile has started to look towards renewable energy to solve this conundrum. Solar energy has been discussed (an industry which consumes silicon carbide, high purity quartz, silica sand and soda ash and feldspar) and - since July this year - fracking is now taking place. State oil company ENAP announced a successful frac at its Arenal block in Tierra del Fuego. The fracked well is reportedly flowing 120,000 cubic metres per day. ENAP has said it will spend $100m on uncon-ventional exploration in 2013-2014.
