News
Sarah Mackenzie and Nigel Wight deliver masterclass for Vicuña Project executives
Sarah Mackenzie, Senior Manager and researcher at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) at The University of Queensland, together with Dr Nigel Wight, Senior Researcher at SMI Chile, travelled to San Juan, Argentina, to deliver a masterclass for executives from the Vicuña Project, focusing on the social performance risks associated with a large-scale mining operation.
SMI Chile brings together junior mining companies to discuss territorial challenges
The meeting took place during the visit to Chile of Sarah Mackenzie, a University of Queensland expert in social responsibility in mining and aimed to foster discussion on the global context of mineral exploration and the challenges facing the sector amid growing territorial, social and environmental complexity.
Mary Valdés discusses the challenges of the new mining supercycle at ProyectMin 2026
SMI Chile Executive Director Dr. Mary Valdés took part as a panellist at ProyectMin 2026, a conference that brought together representatives from mining companies, government, industry associations, suppliers and organisations linked to the sector to discuss mining investment prospects through to 2030.
José Ojeda publishes opinion column on underground mining
In the latest issue of Revista Minería Chilena, SMI Chile researcher José Ojeda shares his perspective on the main challenges and trends shaping underground mining in Chile.
Nathalie Jamett Publishes Scientific Paper on the Design and Management of Lithium Battery Supply Chains
The SMI Chile researcher is part of a team of seven academics from different universities who have published a study on the challenges facing the supply chain of this strategic mineral for the global energy transition in the journal Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy.
Nathalie Jamett presents in Peru on the benefits of an integrated water system
As part of the 1st Moquegua Water Conference, SMI Chile researcher Dr Nathalie Jamett presented the work developed in Chile to advance towards an integrated and collaborative water supply model.
SMI Chile team delivers workshop to test water management tool
The collaborative workshop took place at the campus of the Universidad Católica del Norte and brought together representatives from academia, industry and the public sector, with the aim of validating scenarios and criteria related to water use and supply in the...
SMI-ICE-Chile and Codelco analyze results of the climate risk model
Within the framework of the climate change resilience project that SMI-ICE-Chile is developing for Codelco, the teams from both companies met to review the climate projections obtained for high-altitude regions and the progress of the geospatial results visualization tool.
Sarah Mackenzie and Nigel Wight deliver masterclass for Vicuña Project executives
Sarah Mackenzie, Senior Manager and researcher at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) at The University of Queensland, together with Dr Nigel Wight, Senior Researcher at SMI Chile, travelled to San Juan, Argentina, to deliver a masterclass for executives from the Vicuña Project, focusing on the social performance risks associated with a large-scale mining operation.
SMI Chile brings together junior mining companies to discuss territorial challenges
The meeting took place during the visit to Chile of Sarah Mackenzie, a University of Queensland expert in social responsibility in mining and aimed to foster discussion on the global context of mineral exploration and the challenges facing the sector amid growing territorial, social and environmental complexity.
SMI Chile Visits the Community of Machuca
A team from SMI Chile recently visited the Machuca Atacameño Indigenous Community as part of the services we provide in our role as a Collaborating Organisation, reaffirming our commitment to the sustainable development of communities across the region.
Nigel Wight publishes a scientific article on the critical minerals policy of Australia, Chile, and Finland
Together with five international researchers, the SMI Chile researcher has published a study in the journal Resources Policy that is of great interest to the ongoing discussion regarding the global energy transition.
SMI Chile researchers publish article in the Environmental Law and Science Journal
In the latest issue of the Journal of the First Environmental Court, a scientific publication, a team of researchers from the Centre has published an article entitled “High Andean wetlands under environmental stress: The contribution of interdisciplinary scientific research to conciliation processes in environmental damage cases”.
Pablo Bustos and Dilan Campos presented at the Congress of Salt Flats and High Andean Ecosystems
Researchers from the Environmental Rehabilitation and Ecosystem Dynamics team at SMI-ICE-Chile took part at the 1st Congress of Salt Flats and High Andean Ecosystems, organized by the Natural Laboratory Node for Salt Flats and the Laboratory of Microbial Complexity and Functional Ecology at the University of Antofagasta.
Dilan Campos spoke at the international congress on environmental sciences
At the recent Latin American Congress of Environmental Sciences of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Bío Bío, in Concepción, the SMI-ICE-Chile researcher presented the results of a study to prevent acid mine drainage, one of the greatest...
Marcela Calderón presented research to curb acid mine drainage at the Tailings 2025 Congress
The SMI-ICE-Chile researcher presented the results of a team working on developing a passivation technology to prevent acid mine drainage in copper tailings.
SMI-ICE-Chile provides safety training to Nexa Resources in Peru
The Comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health team, led by Rocío Núñez and Carlos Cuello, successfully completed the delivery of the course “G3- Risk management systems for managers”, taught to the management of the mining company Nexa Resources in the city of Lima, Peru.
Mary Valdés discusses the challenges of the new mining supercycle at ProyectMin 2026
SMI Chile Executive Director Dr. Mary Valdés took part as a panellist at ProyectMin 2026, a conference that brought together representatives from mining companies, government, industry associations, suppliers and organisations linked to the sector to discuss mining investment prospects through to 2030.
Francisca Rivero Speaks at International Carajás Roundtable 2026
SMI Chile General Manager Francisca Rivero took part as an invited panellist at an international forum that explored the role of the mining sector in a world shaped by technological disruption, geopolitical transitions and the urgent need for decarbonisation.
SMI Chile Participates in Australian Embassy’s Scientific Programme at Exponor 2026
As The University of Queensland’s representative in Chile, our Centre played an active role in the scientific and academic activities organised by the Australian Embassy in Chile and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) as part of Exponor 2026. The initiative aimed to further strengthen research and development links between Australia and Chile.
SMI Chile Team Takes Centre Stage at Planning for Closure 2026
Through the presentation of research studies and participation as keynote speakers at the opening ceremony, SMI Chile played a prominent role in this latest edition of the region’s leading international mine closure conference.
José Ojeda publishes opinion column on underground mining
In the latest issue of Revista Minería Chilena, SMI Chile researcher José Ojeda shares his perspective on the main challenges and trends shaping underground mining in Chile.
El Mercurio Interviews Francisca Rivero
The General Manager of SMI Chile was among the experts consulted for the latest edition of the Minería & Comunidad supplement in the newspaper El Mercurio, regarding the evolution of mine closure processes,
Alta Ley Corporation Features Mary Valdés’ Perspective
In its latest newsletter, the public–private organisation features the views of SMI Chile’s new Executive Director, Dr Mary Valdés, on the key challenges facing our Centre as the Chilean branch of The University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute.
Media highlight Mary Valdés appointment
El Mercurio de Antofagasta and several specialised mining industry publications have highlighted the appointment of Chilean academic and executive Mary Valdés to lead SMI Chile.